The internet is divided after Dutch city bans meat adverts in public

A Dutch city has made the bold decision to ban all meat adverts in public – and it has caused quite a stir online.

Haarlem, which can be found to the west of Amsterdam, is going to be banning any ads featuring meat from 2024, with political party, GroenLinks, arguing that it doesn’t want to promote anything that is bad for the climate.

Ads on buses, shelters and screens in public spaces won’t be allowed to feature products that are deemed bad for the environment, and meat is the latest addition to this list.

Meaty adverts are being banned in the Dutch city (Credit: Unsplash)

Previously, ads for fossil fuel industries and aviation have been banned across Amsterdam and The Hague.

But including meat on this list is a call that many disagree with, including the Dutch meat industry, who state that it is “going too far in telling people what’s best for them”.

However, around the world, there has been praise for the decision, with others even suggesting that other cities should follow suit. 

Credit: Twitter

Credit: Twitter

Credit: Twitter

“Hopefully the Netherland’s lead will reverberate around Europe and the rest of the Planet,” wrote one. 

Whilst another said: “Great policy. Banning promotion of harmful products is a useful step in shifting consumption.”

“UK cities should follow this leadership,” said another, tagging London Mayor, Sadiq Khan. 

Of course, for all those in favour of the decision, there were others with passionate concerns.

Credit: Twitter

“We’ve really lost the plot, haven’t we?,” wrote one naysayer in response to the decision, as another branded the choice “insanity”.

The Dutch city made the call after recent studies showed that global food production is to blame for one-third of all planet-heating emissions.

What’s more, producing plant-based foods used half as much pollution as using animals for meat, and the UN says livestock generates more than 14 percent of man-made greenhouse gases.

“Meat is very harmful to the environment. We cannot tell people that there is a climate crisis and encourage them to buy products that are part of it,” Ziggy Klazes, a councillor from GroenLinks who drafted the motion, told the Trouw newspaper.

Some people want the rule to be extended across the world (Credit: Alamy)

It has not yet decided whether sustainably sourced meat will be included in the ban, which will affect the city’s population of 160,000.