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Amsterdam has reportedly become the first capital city in the world to ban public ads for meat and fossil fuels — wiping burgers, gas-powered cars, and airline promotions from billboards, tram stops and metro stations.
Since May 1, the Dutch capital and tourist hotspot’s advertising landscape has undergone a dramatic shift. Ads once showcasing chicken nuggets, SUVs, and budget flights have been replaced with promotions for museums and concerts, according to BBC News.
Local politicians say the sweeping move is part of an aggressive climate agenda, with goals to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and cut meat consumption in half, the outlet reported.
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Boats are seen on the canal in downtown Amsterdam. (iStock)
“The climate crisis is very urgent,” Anneke Veenhoff from the GreenLeft Party said. “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?”
But critics argue the policy crosses a line — calling it an overreach that attempts to engineer personal choices, according to BBC News.
The Dutch Meat Association blasted the ban as “an undesirable way to influence consumer behavior,” warning that meat provides essential nutrients and should remain visible and accessible, the outlet reported.
Meanwhile, travel industry leaders say the restrictions unfairly target businesses.
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An ad is displayed at a tram stop in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Nov. 16, 2023. (Peter Boer/Bloomberg)
The Dutch Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators called the ban on airline advertising a disproportionate blow to commercial freedom, according to BBC News.
Supporters, however, are framing the policy as a broader cultural shift — even comparing meat ads to cigarette campaigns of decades past.
“Because if I look now back at like old pictures, you have Johan Cruyff,” Hannah Prins, a paralegal at Advocates for the Future, told the outlet. “The famous Dutch footballer. … He would be in advertisements for tobacco. That used to be normal. He died of lung cancer.”
Prins added, “I don’t think it’s normal to see murdered animals on billboards. So I think it’s very good that that’s going to change.”
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Climate activists hold posters demanding peace during a march in Amsterdam on May 1, 2026. (Ana Fernandez/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)
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Other Dutch cities — including Haarlem, Utrecht and Nijmegen — have rolled out similar restrictions, while cities across Europe continue pushing to curb fossil fuel advertising, BBC News reported.
Meanwhile, in the United States, federal officials have taken a markedly different approach to food policy.
The Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year unveiled updated dietary guidance featuring an inverted food pyramid. The top of the pyramid, now the wider part of the structure, is built on meat, fats, fruits and vegetables, while whole grains are at the narrow bottom.
Fox News Digital’s Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.