The city that’s banned meat adverts

Summary

Podcast Summary: Business Daily – "The City That’s Banned Meat Adverts"

BBC World Service | Host: Anna Holligan | Date: May 3, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Anna Holligan explores Amsterdam’s pioneering move to ban adverts for meat, fossil fuel cars, and flights from public spaces. The episode dives into the motivations behind this radical policy, its legal and political battles, reactions from industries, and questions around freedom of commercial expression. Experts weigh in on what this could mean for consumer behavior and the climate fight, examining whether taking meat and carbon-heavy ads off the streets will drive meaningful change—or is more symbolic. The conversation is rooted in Amsterdam but looks to its wider implications for cities around the world.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Amsterdam’s Radical New Ban

• Amsterdam is the first capital city globally to ban advertisements for flights, fossil fuel vehicles, and meat products from all public-facing spaces such as billboards and transit shelters.
• The new bylaw is part of the city’s ambition to become climate neutral by 2050 and aims to halve meat consumption over the same period.
  • Anneke Vaynhoff (Green Left Party): "The climate crisis is very urgent...if you want to be leading in climate policies and you rent out your walls to exactly the opposite, then what are you doing?" (03:26)

2. Objectives: Shifting Social Norms and City Image

• The campaigners want public spaces to reflect the city’s environmental commitments and “denormalize” the promotion of high-carbon lifestyles.
  • Anka Bakker (Party for the Animals): "What we see in our public space is what we find normal in our society. And I don't think it's normal to see murdered animals on billboards." (01:59, 11:40)
• Recognizes some hypocrisy, as Amsterdam is close to major carbon emitters like Schiphol Airport, but local politicians argue that shaping public space can set social norms (06:41).

3. Political and Industry Pushback

• Opposition from right-wing parties accused the move of being patronizing, arguing it polices personal choices.
  • Anneke Vaynhoff: "It's also patronizing to say what people can and cannot eat anymore. Well, that's not the point of the proposal. Everybody can just make their own decisions. But actually, we are trying to get the big companies not to tell us all the time what we need to eat and buy." (05:28)
• Meat, travel, and advertising lobbies claim the ban infringes on freedom of commercial expression and could damage revenues supporting public amenities.

4. Industry Reactions and Legal Battles

• Dutch Meat Sector Statement: "Advertising bans...are an undesirable way to influence consumer behaviour. Meat...should remain visible and accessible...Freedom of choice is essential." (04:10)
• Frank Radstacker (CEO, Dutch Travel Agencies Association):
  • Argues the ban curbs companies’ freedom of speech: "Even though it's the freedom of speech of companies, it is still a freedom of speech." (14:14)
  • Foresees the shift in ad spending to digital platforms: "If it's not spent in the public sphere...it will go to newspapers, TV and certainly online." (15:17)

5. Is It Just Symbolism?

• Supporters admit part of the effect is symbolic but say symbols matter for shaping behavior over time—for instance, drawing analogies to tobacco ad bans.
  • Anka Bakker: "Part of it, it's more like saying this is the norm. We do not find it normal that there are flights for €70, that there are hamburger ads everywhere...Even if it's super symbolic, that's not an issue." (10:12)
  • "Once one has done it, why not everyone?" (12:15)

6. Can It Be Enforced and Copied Elsewhere?

• The ban doesn’t touch smartphones or the internet. There's uncertainty over the practical impact given the reach of digital ads (06:02, 16:07).
• But the legal groundwork is seen as a blueprint for other cities.
  • Anneke Vaynhoff: "We made it much more easier now for other cities all around the world to adopt this." (07:48)
  • "Later we will look back and say, well, what were we doing all this time? Why did it take so long?" (08:04)

7. Expert Commentary: The Science of Influence

• Irensha Mackenbach (Epidemiologist, Amsterdam UMC):
  • Frames the ban as a “fantastic natural experiment” (16:24)
  • States that advertising shapes social norms and behavior, with evidence from other sectors: "There is plenty of evidence that marketing leads to increased consumption, but also changed social norms." (17:11)
  • Sees the legal precedent as powerful: "The court has ruled that public health and sustainability...is, at the municipal level, more important than the commercial freedom of expression." (17:11)

8. Long-Term Vision: Next Steps and Cultural Change

• Interviewees anticipate a social shift, like the “de-normalization” of smoking, and hope capitals like Amsterdam can inspire a global domino effect.
  • "In 20 years time, I think and hope that we will look back at these types of policies the same as we look back now on policies around, for instance, tobacco." – Irensha Mackenbach (18:37)

9. Impact on Local Businesses

• The removal of major corporate ads could benefit small, local businesses, giving them more visibility and fostering community-centric economies.
  • Anka Bakker: "Local businesses will be able to thrive because of this, because it's just wrong that these companies can decide what we see and can take up so much of our attention." (19:19)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “What we see in our public space is what we find normal in our society.” – Anka Bakker (01:59, 11:40)
• “The climate crisis is very urgent...if you want to be leading in climate policies and you rent out your walls to exactly the opposite, then what are you doing?” – Anneke Vaynhoff (03:26)
• “Freedom of choice is essential.” – Dutch Meat Industry Statement (04:10)
• “Even though it's the freedom of speech of companies, it is still a freedom of speech.” – Frank Radstacker (14:14)
• “Once one has done it, why not everyone?” – Anka Bakker (12:15)
• “This is a fantastic natural experiment.” – Irensha Mackenbach (16:24)
• “Later we will look back and say, well, what were we doing all this time? Why did it take so long?” – Anneke Vaynhoff (08:04)
• "Local businesses will be able to thrive because of this." – Anka Bakker (19:19)

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Important Timestamps

• [01:42] — Introduction to Amsterdam’s ban
• [03:08] — Motivation from policymakers, scenes from the business district
• [04:10] — Dutch meat industry response statement
• [05:28] — Political debates within the city council
• [06:41] — On public space as a societal mirror
• [10:12] — Legal battles and the symbolic value of the ban
• [11:40] — The tobacco ad ban analogy
• [14:14] — Industry viewpoint on commercial speech (Frank Radstacker)
• [16:24] — Epidemiologist’s view of the ban as a social experiment
• [17:11] — Evidence of advertising impact on norms and consumption
• [19:19] — Potential benefits for local businesses

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Tone and Style

The episode features a mix of reportage, street-level description (e.g., Amsterdam’s flower-filled roundabout), and candid, sometimes passionate commentary from politicians, campaigners, and industry voices. The language is accessible but opinionated, reflecting both the contentiousness and optimism surrounding the policy.

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For listeners and readers:
Amsterdam has made an unprecedented move by banning meat and fossil fuel adverts in public, aiming to shift norms as much as consumer habits. The city’s policymakers and campaigners draw on analogies from tobacco to underscore the long-term ambition, while critics warn of legal overreach and question the real-world impact in an increasingly digital ad landscape. The episode offers a nuanced view into the political, legal, and societal stakes of reimagining what—and who—dominates public urban life.

Transcript

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[Anna Holligan]

You're listening to Business Daily on the BBC World Service. Hi, I'm Anna Holigan. Today, Amsterdam is the first capital in the world to ban commercials for flights, fossil fuel cars and meat products from billboards, bus stops and metro shelters.

[Anka Bakker]

What we see in our public space is what we find normal in our society. And I don't think it's normal to see murdered animals on billboards.

[Anna Holligan]

But the travel and meat industries argue it's a violation of their rights.

[Frank Radstacker]

We are actually talking about the freedom of speech and even the though it's the freedom of speech of companies, it is still a freedom of speech today.

[Anna Holligan]

Does ripping high carbon adverts off the streets really change anything beyond the optics?

[Irensha Mackenbach]

This is a for an epidemiologist like me, fantastic natural experiment.

[Anneke Vaynhoff]

Later we will look back and say what were we doing all this time? Why did it take so long?

[Anna Holligan]

That's all coming up in Business Daily from the BBC. Here at one of the Dutch capital's busiest tram and metro stops, a grassy roundabout is bursting with Bright yellow daffodils and blazing orange tulips. Until last week, the Perspex panels here pushed chicken nuggets and SUVs and cheap package holidays. Now they're advertising the Rijksmuseum and a piano concert. For those responsible for the makeover, this is more than a cosmetic cleanup.

[Anka Bakker]

Hello.

[Hannah Prinz]

Yes, hi, so nice to meet you.

[Anna Holligan]

Anka Bakker from the Party for the Animals instigated the new bylaw. I meet her and Anneke Vaynhoff from the Green Left Party that supported the legislation outside Amsterdam south train station, right in the heart of the business district.

[Anneke Vaynhoff]

The climate crisis is very urgent.

I mean, if you want to be leading in climate policies and you rent out your walls to exactly the opposite, then what are you doing?

[Anna Holligan]

They say it's about bringing the city's streetscape into line with its climate targets, which include becoming climate neutral by 2050 and halving meat consumption over the same period.

[Anneke Vaynhoff]

Most people don't understand why the municipality should make money out of renting our public space with something that we are actively having policies against.

[Anna Holligan]

The Dutch meat industry body, the Central Organization for the Flay Sector, or Citizen cov, condemned the decision. They declined to be interviewed, but did share a statement.

[COV Spokesperson]

COV considers broad advertising bans to be an undesirable way to influence consumer behaviour. Meat is a nutritious food product. A nutritious product that delivers essential nutrients should remain visible and accessible to consumers. The Dutch meat sector provides meat products, but also produces a broad range of plant based and hybrid products. Freedom of choice is essential.

[Anna Holligan]

Meat may be a relatively small slice of Amsterdam's outdoor advertising market, but politically it sends a message. Grouping meat with flights, cruises and petrol cars reframes it from a purely private dietary choice to a climate issue that belongs in the same conversation as oil, gas and aviation. We reached out to the advertising industry. The world's biggest outdoor ad company company, JC de Crow, which runs many of Amsterdam's bus shelters. A spokesperson declined to comment. But behind the scenes we understand they'd been warning councillors of far reaching financial and legal consequences if they backed the ban, saying it could undermine the ad revenue that helps fund public amenities. The Green Left and Animal Party also had to overcome opposition within the city council. Anke and Anneke again?

[Anneke Vaynhoff]

Yeah, there was a right wing party. They positioned themselves to make fun of the proposal and to show it's more populist to say. It's also patronizing to say what people can and cannot eat anymore. Well, that's not the point of the proposal. Everybody can Just make their own decisions. But actually, we are trying to get the big companies not to tell us all the time what we need to eat and buy.

In a way, we're giving people more freedom because they can make their own choice.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Right.

[Anneke Vaynhoff]

Instead of putting it in their face.

[Hannah Prinz]

This ban doesn't touch people's smartphones. And if we look around at the people who are walking into the station, most of them have got their heads down. They're not looking up at the billboards, they're looking down at their screens. Is there a way to tackle that too, or is that simply out of reach? You're shaking your head.

[Anneke Vaynhoff]

I think this would be something for the European level. And it's really hard.

[Anna Holligan]

You know, we've got planes overhead, we're so close.

[Hannah Prinz]

We're like 10 minutes away from Schiphol Airport. There is a bit of hypocrisy there that fossil fuel ads are banned in a city which is so close to one of the major airport hubs in Europe, which is a huge carbon emission contributor.

[Anneke Vaynhoff]

Yes, absolutely. But the public space also sets a norm, right? So that's what we're doing. We can't control all the other stuff, but we have actually a say in our public space.

[Hannah Prinz]

Is it even possible to work out whether taking nuggets and juicy burgers off the billboards will result in fewer people going into fast food restaurants and eating meat?

[Anneke Vaynhoff]

I think eventually it will add up to denormalize using fossil fuels and consuming meat.

Like with the smoking, you know, it communicates, oh, let's have a smoke and party, and oh, look how cool this is. Well, that's exactly what we're doing with the meat advertisement. We're just telling people, oh, look, you know, you want to be with us, you, you want to belong with us. We want to fly for €19 to Berlin. I just saw that ad, by the way. So I was just cycling there and I thought, oh, yeah, it would be nice to travel. Oh, wait a minute. Oh, €19.

[Hannah Prinz]

Oh, have you created the blueprint? Now then, can cities anywhere in the

[Anna Holligan]

world take all of that research that

[Hannah Prinz]

you've collated and all of the legal precedent that you've secured and say, well, look, here it is on paper, we want this too.

[Anneke Vaynhoff]

Yeah, we have this. It's almost copy paste. But of course, in all the other parts of the world, I can imagine that the local laws are a bit different. We made it much more easier now for other cities all around the world to adopt this.

Well, if we are serious about climate change and our health and environment. Then don't give your walls of the city that we all own to exactly the opposite. I mean, people can eat what they want, but don't manipulate people to do unhealthy things for themselves and the planet. Later we will look back and say, well, what were we doing all this time? Why did it take so long?

[Anna Holligan]

This is Business Daily from the BBC World Service.

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[Anna Holligan]

I'm Anna Holigan and today we're in Amsterdam exploring how and why it's just become the world's first capital city to ban meat and fossil fuel products from billboards and other public spaces.

[Anka Bakker]

Hannah, nice to meet you. This is also the sound of like the big city, right?

[Hannah Prinz]

It's so pretty around here.

[Anka Bakker]

Yeah, it's beautiful. Apart from those ads that are ruining

[Anna Holligan]

our public spaces, Hannah Prinz and her group Advocates for the Future worked closely with campaigners at Raclan Fossil Fry to ensure the ban stood up to the legal challenges.

[Anka Bakker]

You see an ad and you buy stuff. So if you see ads for unhealthy food hundreds of times a day, then, yeah, then I also want to eat ice cream. So I think part of it, it will actually really work. Part of it, it's more of like saying this is the norm. We do not find it normal that there are flights for €70, that there are hamburger ads everywhere, that. That there are fossil fuel cars which are being advertised. I think it's partly symbolic and I think that's totally fine. Like some things, it's good if it's symbolic that we say, hey, we don't find it normal that we see these things in our public spaces, even if people still buy certain things, go on certain trips. So I think even if it's super symbolic, that's not an issue. I was at the court case in the Hague where this was being decided that Fossil Frei started and my organization, Advocates for the Future. We supported them together with the municipality in the Hague in court. And the room was full of people from the advertising business because they were like, oh my God. In Dutch we say wisite beu all hange. Like we see the rain clouds coming in. I think they think, ah, if we're not allowed to make advertisements anymore for diesel cars or for deep fried chicken, what will be next? Will the next thing be fast fashion?

[Hannah Prinz]

And do you think it can achieve anything tangible in terms of changing people's behavior? Because comparisons have been made in the past with the battle against the tobacco industry. Do you think that's a fair comparison? And do you think it can actually change behavior?

[Anka Bakker]

Definitely, definitely. Because if I look now back at like old pictures, you have Johan Cruijff, right? The famous Dutch footballer. He would be in advertisements for tobacco that used to be normal. He died of lung cancer that you were allowed to smoke on the train, on restaurants. For me, that's like, whoa, why did people do that? You know, that feels so weird. So it really is like what we see in our public space is what we find normal in our society. And I don't think it's normal to see like murdered animals on billboards. So I think it's very good that that's going to change.

[Hannah Prinz]

And when you say murdered animals, you're talking about burgers and nuggets.

[Anka Bakker]

Yeah, yeah. So you see that now in the Netherlands we have 19 municipalities who have done this. You know, it started with one and now it's 19. Because a judge said this is totally okay. It's not against freedom of speech. You can just decide to say, no, we don't want some kinds of advertisements. So I think you really see that the ball is starting to roll. And once one has done it, why not everyone? I really think that in like 10, 15 years time, we're going to look back and we're going to think, whoa, did we ever have advertisements for flights for €15? Insane. I think. And I hope that big polluting companies will be extra scared and maybe will rethink the kind of products they are selling and Also, why they need advertisement. I think you can really see that change is possible.

[Train Announcer]

Dear passengers, good afternoon. Welcome on board of the city's office.

[Anna Holligan]

The Dutch capital isn't starting from scratch. A short train ride away. The Hague successfully defended a ban on fossil fuel ads last year. And in Harlem, a ban on meat advertising came into force in 2024. It was the first in the world. Globally, cities from Stockholm to Sheffield are moving to curb fossil fuel ads, while France has already introduced a nationwide ban. Campaigners hope Amsterdam, because it's a capital and includes meat, could set the pace. But that's exactly what the industries affected are concerned about.

[Frank Radstacker]

Are you literally standing outside or is that a very fancy background?

[Anna Holligan]

Frank Radstacker is the CEO of anvr, the association representing travel agencies and tour operators in the Netherlands. We're speaking remotely. He's on the other side of the Netherlands, and I've got my laptop propped up on my cargo bike from a

[Hannah Prinz]

lovely green spot outside. Welcome to the Hague.

[Anna Holligan]

He argues that blocking adverts for trips that include flights is disproportionate curb on companies commercial freedom.

[Frank Radstacker]

We are actually talking about the freedom of speech. And even though it's a freedom of speech of companies, it is still a freedom of speech. And to ban that freedom of speech just with the possibility that a certain measure may lead to a certain goal, we think that is not the right way to go. So the reason why we are now starting a second lawsuit against the municipality of the Hague is because we want to be pretty sure and we want to have it very clear which types of advertisements are allowed and which aren't. So it's not allowed to advertise any type of travel that includes a flight, but is it allowed to advertise a destination that can only be reached by plane? If we can't advertise at all, that will definitely impact us a lot.

[Hannah Prinz]

So what will you do with the cash that was being used for billboards? Will it get reinvested or redirected into places where more people's eyes are anyway? Different media, for example, on their smartphones, on social media platforms instead of bus stops and tram shelters?

[Frank Radstacker]

Well, absolutely. Travel companies have a certain budget for marketing and advertising. If it's not spent in the public sphere in the Hague or any other municipality, it will go to newspapers, TV and certainly online. It's not something that shouldn't be normalized. It's an industry that had lots of positive impact, negative impact as well. And we have to work on the negative impact. That's the obligation we as travel industry have and I'd rather work together with the municipality than than being on the opposite side of a lawsuit, but they give me no choice. That's why the lawsuit we're now starting is of great importance, not just for travel companies in the Netherlands, but for travel companies all around the world. And in all honesty, not just for travel companies, but for other industries that might be next on the list as well.

[Anna Holligan]

Here at the tram stop in Amsterdam, you might no longer see a juicy burger or a €19 flight to Berlin on the shelter. But the same eye catching offers can still pop up on your algorithm. If municipal bans leave digital platforms untouched, how much real world impact can they actually have on our habits?

[Irensha Mackenbach]

This is a. For an epidemiologist like me, fantastic natural experiment to see what the effects are of such policies.

[Anna Holligan]

Irensha Mackenbach describes herself as a curious scientist.

[Irensha Mackenbach]

My research focuses on how our living environments affect behaviors and health outcomes.

[Anna Holligan]

She's an associate professor at the Department of Epidemiology and Data Science at Amsterdam umc.

[Irensha Mackenbach]

If we see advertisements for fast food everywhere, it normalizes fast food consumption. So if we take away those types of cues in our public living environments, then that is also going to have an impact on those social norms.

[Anna Holligan]

Is there any evidence that taking nuggets and burgers off billboards will change our eating habits and create a more plant based society?

[Irensha Mackenbach]

I don't think there's any evidence at this moment. But there is plenty of evidence that marketing leads to increased consumption, but also changed social norms. And the other way around, taking away advertisements leads to lower consumption of the targeted products. So one such measure, such as an advertisement restriction, is really not the silver bullet, but it is a really important element that we should not forget in a broader policy package. The lawsuit in the Hague is a very important precedent. The court has ruled that public health and sustainability, planetary health, is at the municipal level, more important than the commercial freedom of expression. And this court ruling can be used by other municipalities to implement their restrictions or bans. There are cities that do not allow any advertisements under the premise that it is just pollution of our living environment to have advertisements Everywhere. In 20 years time, I think and hope that we will look back at these types of policies the same as we look back now on policies around, for instance, tobacco. Back in the days it was a very bold move to restrict tobacco advertisements. And now we think why didn't we do this earlier? And in the future this is very likely to contribute to changes in consumption behavior as well.

[Anna Holligan]

It's still easy to swing by a drive through, pick up a burger, or book a cheap flight from one of Europe's busiest airports. And many people will continue to do so. Industry groups, meanwhile, argue these choices reflect consumer demand and support jobs and economic activity, and warn against policies they see as overreach. But Amsterdam's streetscape has begun to shift, offering a visible sign of changing priorities. And Hannah Prince believes local businesses will will gain as the big corporate billboards come down.

[Anka Bakker]

And maybe we'll rethink the kind of products they are selling. And also why they need advertisements. Because like everything we love, festivals, nice cheese, flower, shop around the corner, all the stuff that we love, we don't hear from through ads, usually through people that we know or we walk past the building. So I think local businesses will be able to thrive because of this, because it's just wrong that these companies can decide what we see and can take up so much of our attention.

[Anna Holligan]

You've been listening to Business Daily, presented by me, Anna Holligan. For more stories at the heart of the global economy, just search for Business Daily wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

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