China News Service, September 8 (Xinhua) According to a comprehensive report, in order to reduce meat consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, Haarlem, the Netherlands, will be the first in the world to ban meat advertisements in public places from 2024.
Data map: Dutch people consume in a cafe.
Haarlem, a city of about 160,000 people, will ban meat advertisements on buses, bus shelters and screens in public spaces, the report said, prompting complaints from the industry that the municipality is "too wide-ranging" .
Recent research points out that one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions come from global food production, with livestock raised for meat causing twice as much pollution as producing plant-based foods.
The deforestation of carbon dioxide-absorbing forests for grazing livestock and the use of nitrogen-rich fertilizers to grow animal feeds pollute the air and water, contribute to climate change and ozone depletion, according to reports.
Livestock also produce large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Also banned from public places are advertisements for holiday air travel, fossil fuel and gasoline vehicles.
Greenpeace research shows that to reach the EU's 2050 net-zero emissions target, per capita meat consumption must be reduced to 24kg per year, compared with the current EU per capita meat consumption of 82kg per year, the largest meat consumption in the EU. The Netherlands, the largest exporter, has an annual per capita meat consumption of 75.8 kg.