In an amazing win for the planet,
Amsterdam has become
the first capital city in the world to ban advertisements for climate-poisoning fossil fuel and meat products in public places! This means that all over the city - near public transit stations, on billboards, and more - corporations are banned from openly advertising meat, flights, and gas-guzzling cars. Instead, those same spots are now filled with marketing for the arts, museums, and local shops.
Sign the petition to encourage the European Union (EU) to implement this important, Earth-friendly policy across the rest of its member states!Amsterdam is the first capital city to take this step, but
it's actually joining a pre-existing trend of other municipalities implementing similar measures. This includes towns and cities in the Netherlands like Haarlem, Utrecht, and Nijmegen, as well as other cities around, like Edinburgh, UK; Florence, Italy; Sheffield, UK; and Stockholm, Sweden - and even the entire country of France.
Researchers have found that advertising has a huge impact on public consumption and people's daily behaviors. For example, back in 2019, London banned advertising for 'junk food' in its Underground system - which resulted in a reduction in junk food sales in the city.
These bans are great because they still allow people the freedom to make their own purchasing choices, while preventing corporations from actively bombarding people with messages instructing us to buy their climate-harming products.
This is similar to bans on marketing for cigarettes and other tobacco products, both in the Netherlands and in other countries like the U.S.
As lawyer Hannah Prins explains,
celebrities like famous Dutch athlete Johan Cruyff used to be featured in tobacco adverts, which often resulted in tragedy for both the public and the celebrities alike. She says, "That used to be normal. He died of lung cancer."
Meat and fossil fuels are similarly harmful for public health.
Animal agriculture and fossil fuel use are some of the leading contributors to greenhouse gases and climate change - which is wrecking our world at a faster and faster pace. Multiple organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the American Cancer Society have also determined that meat is
probably carcinogenic.The Earth is facing its Sixth Mass Extinction crisis, and meanwhile heatwaves, wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and droughts are intensifying. That's why Amsterdam's municipality has set a
goal to become fully carbon neutral by the year 2050.
Amsterdam is making a smart move to prioritize the Earth, its environmental goals, and public health with its ban on planet-harming meat and fossil fuel advertisements. Since this trend is already on the rise throughout Europe, the European Union (EU) should go ahead and make this a community-wide policy! Sign the petition!