The Barcelona Provincial Court declares the campaign "A meat burger pollutes more than your car" misleading

Article extracted from Somos Ganaderia

The judgment of the Provincial Court of Barcelona found that a marketing company engaged in unfair competition through misleading advertising in relation to the campaign “A meat burger pollutes more than your car“, ordering the cessation of the campaign, which implies the removal of materials still accessible to the public on social networks, as well as the prohibition of its repetition or resumption in the future.

The judgment establishes the defendant company’s obligation to publish the ruling in a national newspaper, on its website, and on its social media profiles. In this regard, the decision of the Provincial Court of Barcelona highlights the application of regulations on unfair competition and advertising, in line with consumer protection and the requirement for truthfulness in commercial communication.

The first-instance judgment had already found the existence of an infringement in relation to the messages disseminated on social networks. At the appeal stage, the Provincial Court analysed the campaign as a whole, without ruling out the existence of possible inaccuracies or exaggerations in specific messages.

The Spanish Livestock and Meat Forum’s take

In this context, the Spanish Livestock and Meat Forum considers it relevant to underline the importance of strict compliance with regulations on fair competition and truthful commercial communication in the food sector, for the benefit of consumers and a transparent market. Gregorio Rodríguez, Director of the Spanish Livestock and Meat Forum, positively assessed this judicial decision, considering that “it represents an important step in the defence of fair competition and respect for an entire strategic sector for our country. Free competition is positive for consumers and for the market, but it cannot be based on campaigns that unjustifiably discredit or denigrate other sectors”.

The Spanish Livestock and Meat Forum, which represents the main interprofessional organisations of the Spanish meat sector, will continue to defend the interests of the entire value chain through rigorous messages grounded in scientific evidence, in favour of a balanced, high-quality diet.

The Livestock and Meat Forum is the association that brings together the six Spanish meat interprofessional organisations: ASICI (Iberian pork), AVIANZA (poultry meat), INTERCUN (rabbit sector), INTEROVIC (sheep and goat meat), INTERPORC (white-layer pork) and PROVACUNO (beef sector). It represents a sector that contributes more than €42 billion to Spain’s GDP, provides direct employment to more than 670,000 people and supports more than 1.5 million indirect jobs, playing an essential role in the economy, the food industry and the cohesion of rural areas. Defending competition based on respect and truthful information is also defending one of Spain’s main economic and social driving forces.