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Adfree Cities has called for a ban on adverts that promote factory farming.
According to the group’s new “Gag Big Ag” campaign, advertisements for meat-based fast-food and other products promote harmful intensive agriculture. Adfree Cities has called for all meat and dairy ads to be pulled from council-owned land.
Read more: Global Uptake Of Plant-Rich Diets Could Help Reduce Emissions By 76%
Adfree Cities said that its new Gag Big Ag campaign represents organizations across sustainable farming, animal rights, and anti-pollution advocacy.
The campaign calls on local councils to take action on advertising that promotes meat, dairy, and factory farming to “make room for more honest conversations about food.” In a UK-first, Zoe Garbett, the Mayor of Hackney, has pledged to end meat and dairy advertising on all council-owned land in the East London borough.
As noted by Adfree Cities, approximately 85 percent of animals farmed in the UK are raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Even though 73 percent of people in the UK oppose the factory farming of chickens and other animals, polls show that many underestimate how common low-welfare farming practices are.
In July, a poll by Viva! found that nearly 75 percent of British shoppers incorrectly believe that farmed chickens are no longer caged. Last year, a report by The Animal Law Foundation found that “pervasive” misinformation about the food system affects British people’s perception of meat, dairy, and eggs, while previous research found that more than half of Brits are unaware dairy cows must be impregnated.
‘We’re calling for ads that promote factory farming to be banned’
Meanwhile, major fast-food brands such as McDonald’s and KFC are doubling down on low-cost, low-welfare meat and dairy, including fast-growing “frankenchickens.”
Nicola Wilks, who coordinates the Adfree Cities Gag Big Ag campaign, said, “Communities across the country are blocking new factory farms, from sheds housing millions of chickens to inland salmon farms. Most people in the UK are opposed to animals being confined in sheds with barely any room to move. But a surround sound of big brand advertising is concealing the hard truth about how most UK meat and dairy is produced. We’re calling for ads that promote factory farming to be banned: to stop misleading people, stop undermining local sustainable farmers, and stop enabling the expansion of this type of farming.”
In 2024 alone, McDonald’s and KFC spent more than £110 million on outdoor advertising, and in July, despite the UK’s new rules and restrictions on junk food ads, McDonald’s became the latest fast-food giant to have its marketing approved.
Read more: Pret Targeted By £1 Million Public Accountability Campaign Over ‘Frankenchickens’
Amsterdam bans fossil fuel and meat ads
Earlier this year, Amsterdam became the first capital city in the world to introduce a ban on advertisements for fossil fuels and meat. According to campaigners, corporate advertising of this kind deepens inequality, distracts drivers, harms wildlife, harms mental health, drains resources, erodes local culture, and effectively privatizes public space, all while normalizing and promoting harmful industries and products, from beef burgers and “free-range” eggs to high-emitting SUVs and cheap airlines.
The Dutch cities of Utrecht, Zwolle, and The Hague have already banned ads featuring fossil fuels, and Utrecht and Zwolle have moved to ban meat advertisements, too. In April, a Dutch court upheld The Hague’s ban on fossil fuel ads, stating that it adhered to EU law and served the public interest.
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