Adverts which encouraged people to buy British beef and milk have been banned after Chris Packham complained to the watchdog that they were ‘misleading’.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s ‘Let’s Eat Balanced’ campaign claimed the produce had a lower carbon footprint than other countries.
One national advert showed a young, smiling, blonde-haired girl holding a glass full of the dairy drink with a milk moustache.
There is an image of a field baked in sunshine with white text in capital letters which reads: ‘Good from grass to glass.’
A claim in smaller text underneath added: ‘British milk not only tastes good, but is also produced to world-class standards, and has a carbon footprint a third lower than the global average.’
In a second advert, a wide-eyed black woman is holding a plate with cuts of beef on top of a pile of salad, with one piece of meat dangling from a fork held close to her open mouth.
A headline reads ‘Great Britain, great beef’ with text underneath claiming: ‘British beef not only tastes great, but has a carbon footprint that’s half the global average.’
But the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned them both after a 14-month investigation following a complaint made by vegan and TV broadcaster Mr Packham that they were ‘misleading’.
In its ruling, the ASA said the adverts, which were seen between September 2024 and February 2025, could not substantiate their lower carbon footprint claims as they weren’t based on the full lifecycle of the products.
One national advert by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board showed a young, smiling, blonde-haired girl holding a glass full of the dairy drink with a milk moustache
In a second advert, a wide-eyed black woman is holding a plate with cuts of beef on top of a pile of salad, with one piece of meat dangling from a fork held close to her open mouth
However, a complaint made by the eco campaigner that an Instagram post and a page on the campaign’s website ‘implied that cows used to produce beef and milk in the UK were typically outdoor grazed’ was thrown out.
The ASA also did not uphold a complaint that ‘the ads were misleading as they did not reflect the full environmental impact of British meat and dairy’.
Mr Packham, 65, said: ‘The science is unambiguous. We are in a climate and nature crisis and equally unambiguous when it comes to solutions.
‘The meat and dairy industry is a very significant contributor to climate breakdown and the leading driver of biodiversity loss both nationally and globally. Our government’s advice is clear too, if we want to survive, we must reduce not increase our meat and dairy consumption.
‘The AHDB campaigns were reckless, irresponsible and dangerous, because they were misleading and rather than offering consumers an opportunity to be part of a positive solution, they directed people to exaggerate the problem. We need scientifically informed change.’
Mr Packham’s legal representative Ricardo Gama said the TV broadcaster felt the AHDB’s adverts were a ‘clear-cut case of greenwashing’.
He said: ‘The only way to avoid climate disaster is to decarbonise the food system, and that can only be done if people eat less meat and dairy.
‘Chris, therefore, felt that an advertising campaign trying to get people to eat more British meat and dairy because of its apparent environmental benefits was a clear-cut case of greenwashing. He is therefore glad that the advertising regulator has ruled in his favour.’
He called the ruling ‘important’, and that ‘environmental claims about food products must reflect the full picture’.
The AHDB, a quango which answers to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said the ruling ‘shows that the campaign’s core claims were robust’.
Will Jackson, the AHDB’s director of communications and market development, said: ‘AHDB stood firmly behind the evidence, and subsequently British beef, lamb and dairy production have been represented responsibly and fairly.
‘We understand Chris Packham has a passion for campaigning to protect the environment, and he can be reassured by this ruling that the information we share with consumers is supported by sound science.’
But the Advertising Standards Agency has banned the adverts after the watchdog upheld a complaint by Chris Packham that they were ‘misleading’
The AHDB argued in its response to the ASA that its ‘approach was intended to provide a balanced and evidence-based discussion, reflecting on both the challenges and opportunities in livestock production’.
‘They did not intend to speak in absolute terms, instead they intended to acknowledge the journey British agriculture was on,’ the ASA said in its ruling.
‘They acknowledged that all food production, including meat and dairy, had an environmental impact, and maintained that the ads had not omitted that information.’
Mr Jackson said ‘Let’s Eat Balanced’ was ‘doing what it was designed to do, providing clear, factual, evidence-led information about British food, nutrition and farming standards’.
He added the campaign would be returning in the autumn
‘The Let’s Eat Balanced campaign promotes a healthy, balanced diet with the Government’s Eatwell guide at its foundation,’ he said.
‘We are proud to be able to highlight the role lean red meat and dairy can play in complementing plant-rich foods on behalf of levy payers, many of whom are farmers.
‘The campaign is about nutrition, provenance and farming standards – not environmental superiority.’
BBC Springwatch presenter Mr Packham previously backed Just Stop Oil protesters and testified in support of Cambridge-educated activist Cressida Gethin during her trial in 2024.
The then 22-year-old was later jailed for four years for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance after she scaled a M25 gantry.
In February this year, he and his stepdaughter were accused of ‘harassing’ trail hunters as he spent five hours livestreaming of what he called their ‘medieval savagery’.
And in the same month, he said he had similarities with former Top Gear host turned farmer Jeremy Clarkson.
Mr Packham told The Telegraph: ‘Everybody expects me to hate Jeremy, but we worked together and he was extraordinarily hospitable.
‘And he’s like myself, he sometimes sees the need to antagonise a situation to promote a conversation.
‘In recent times, we’ve seen him swinging more in my direction. He made the comment last August about the badger cull being ineffective, which as a farmer is very valid, and for him to have said that is great.’
He more recently called for tobacco-style stickers to be placed on meat products to see how people react.
‘I often fantasise, I will get round to it, I’m gonna have a whole series of stickers printed of animals kept in appalling conditions, and then I’m going to go and stick them on the meat packets in the supermarket and see how people react,’ he said.
