Beef campaign to continue after TV presenter’s complaint flops
The UK’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has confirmed that an advertising campaign to highlight the health benefits of red meat and cow’s milk will continue, despite a complaint from a high-profile campaigner.
AHDB launched a campaign called ‘Let’s Eat Balanced’ in the autumn of 2024. This included advertisements on television, in the national press, on social media and on its own website.
On seeing the ads, a television presenter and environmental campaigner called Chris Packham submitted a formal complaint to the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA launched an investigation into the content and, after 14 months, released its findings on May 13.
The authority summed up Mr Packham’s claims as saying the ads were misleading as they did not reflect “the full environmental impact of British meat and dairy”. He objected to claims that UK beef has a carbon footprint that is half the global average and that milk from the country’s dairy farms has a carbon footprint that is one-third lower than the global average.
He also claimed it was misleading for the campaign to imply that cows used to produce beef and milk in the UK are typically outdoor-grazed.
In its assessment, the ASA rejected almost all of Mr Packham’s complaint. It did say, though, that the campaigns claims about carbon footprint were likely to make consumers think emissions for consumption and disposal of products were included. AHDB explained that it had only taken into account farm-to-retail phases of meat and milk production.
In response to the findings, AHDB said it was preparing to rerun the campaign this autumn. It explained: “We are pleased to confirm our ‘Let’s Eat Balanced’ campaign will continue to inform consumers about the benefits of red meat and dairy as part of a healthy, balanced diet. We maintain that all information shared with consumers in the campaign is supported by robust scientific evidence.”
It said the only part of Chris Packham’s complaints to be upheld related to “a technical footnote” in two newspaper adverts. It added that the carbon-footprint comparisons it made in its campaign were based on “highly respected scientific evidence”.
Image: UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
