Two adverts promoting British beef and milk have been banned after a complaint from television presenter and environmental campaigner Chris Packham. The ads, run by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) as part of its Let’s Eat Balanced campaign, claimed that British beef has a carbon footprint half the global average and that British milk has a carbon footprint a third lower than the global average.
Packham argued that the claims were misleading because they did not reflect the full environmental impact of British meat and dairy, including emissions from cooking and waste. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld the complaint, stating that the average consumer would interpret the claims as applying to the entire lifecycle, not just production up to the retail stage.
The ASA noted that while it acknowledged difficulties in producing post-retail emissions data, the ads suggested those emissions were included. It concluded that the evidence provided was insufficient to support the full lifecycle claims and reminded AHDB that environmental claims should be based on the full lifecycle unless stated otherwise.
AHDB’s director of communications and market development, Will Jackson, defended the campaign, saying it provided clear, factual information. He added that independent consumer research conducted since the investigation began showed that most respondents interpreted the adverts as relating only to the production phase from farm to retail.
