NETHERLANDS- Haarlem, Netherlands will become the first city in the world to ban meat advertisements from appearing in public places in an effort to decrease consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Haarlem, which is to the west of Amsterdam and has a population of around 160,000, will enforce the prohibition starting in 2024 as meat was added to a list of products considered to be a contributing factor in the climate problem.
The removal of advertisements from public screens, buses, and shelters has sparked criticism from the meat industry who claims that the municipality is “going too far in telling people what’s best for them.”
According to recent studies, the production of food worldwide accounts for one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions, with the usage of meat causing twice as much pollution as the production of plant-based diets.
“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 counselor from GroenLinks who drafted the motion, told the Trouw newspaper.
According to Statistics Netherlands, although more than half of Dutch people consume meat, only about 95% of them do so daily.
Ads for the aviation and fossil fuel industries have already been prohibited in Amsterdam and The Hague.
According to an independent Life Cycle Analysis that was published last year, cultured meat is predicted to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 92%, land use by 95%, and water use by 78% when compared to conventional beef production and assuming renewable energy is used.
The UN says livestock generate more than 14% of all man-made greenhouse gases, including methane.
Methane emissions from greenhouse gases, which include those from beef, are the highest.
The environmental impact of lamb is the second largest, but these emissions are 50% lower than those of beef.
In November of last year, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) urged leaders to ensure global net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
World leaders made billion-dollar pledges to electrify transportation, phase out fossil fuels, and encourage the development of sustainable energy technologies.
The fastest and most significant progress toward combating climate change may be made by using produced meat as a supplement to sustainable areas of traditional animal agriculture.
According to an independent Life Cycle Analysis that was published last year, cultured meat is predicted to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 92%, land use by 95%, and water use by 78% when compared to conventional beef production and assuming renewable energy is used.
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