DUTCH EXPERIENCE: THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE "GREENS" MAY LEAD TO THE BANKRUPTCY OF MEAT PROCESSING PLANTS

The first city on the planet, where advertising of natural meat will be officially banned from 2024, was the Dutch city of Haarlem. Activists of the GroenLinks ("Green Left") political party have achieved such a decision from the local authorities. The initiators of the ban are trying to combat the harmful influence of animal husbandry on the climate of the planet. At the same time, representatives of the meat industry fear that the spread of such practices to other Dutch territories may lead to losses and bankruptcy in the industry.

According to the adopted act, advertising meat of animal origin will be prohibited in all public places of the city, including public transport. The basis for the bill was a study by scientists. It showed that people cut down forests for cattle breeding. Animal feed is grown using fertilizers harmful to soil and water.

European experts note that in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, the livestock sector is in second place after energy.

UN data also show that 14% of harmful emissions are produced by human activity in the agro-industrial sector. First of all, we are talking about cows that emit a significant amount of methane. It is he who retains heat in the atmosphere many times more efficiently than carbon dioxide.

According to Greenpeace calculations, the average Dutch resident eats 75.8 kg of meat annually. This is 6.2 kg less than the average for EU countries. At the same time, the European Union has decided to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible by the middle of the 21st century. 

To do this, meat consumption must be reduced to 24 kg per person in Europe. Experts call the transition to vegetable alternatives to meat a solution to the problem.

Since 2014, the volume of its consumption has grown by 20% annually. In 2020, about 500 million kg of such products were eaten in the world.

Last autumn, the head of the largest meat processing plant in Europe, Danish Crown, predicted that many states may soon abandon the use of meat in order to save the Earth.

However, in the same year 2020, humanity ate more than 300 million tons of various meat products.

The decision of the authorities of Haarlem, where about 160 thousand citizens live, taken under the influence of the "green left", is unlikely to be able to radically change the situation in the field of ecology. This, in particular, is indicated by representatives of the meat industry.

One of the professional associations stated that the prohibition of advertising is a violation of the rights of citizens to independently choose what they consider good or bad. Representatives of the conservative BVNL party called the decision to ban meat advertising, taken for political reasons, "almost a dictatorship."

Фото: Изображение от Freepik