OVER 100 COMPLAINTS have been received by the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) over an ad campaign run by the National Dairy Council (NDC).
The NDC’s campaign ‘Irish Dairy – a complete natural’ has been criticised for its use of the phrase ‘plant-based’ in relation to dairy milk.
‘Plant-based’ typically refers to milk that does not come from animals, but comes from plants – such as oat milk, soya milk or coconut milk.
So far, 109 complaints have been received about the campaign.
In 2016, a total of 126 complaints were received by the ASAI regarding food and beverages.
Visitors to the ASAI website who wish to complain about a particular advert receive this message:
ASAI has a sufficient number of complaints received to address the current National Dairy Council’s Milk advertising campaign. Given the extensive volume of evidence we have received to date of consumer sentiment, the submission of any NEW complaints is unnecessary under these particular circumstances.
Last week, animal rights group Peta said it wanted the ASAI to ban the campaign.
In its own complaint to the ASAI, it said it is “wrong” of the NDC to use the term:
Milk squeezed out of a cow is no more plant-based than is flesh cut from her body. Dairy milk is taken directly from an animal, whereas plant-based milks are made directly from plants.
PETA Director of Vegan Corporate Projects, Dawn Carr, indicated the ad campaign reflected the impact on the dairy industry of plant-based milks.
“More and more people are turning to delicious, cruelty-free plant-based milks as they learn about the sad lives of cows on dairy farms and the health risks associated with drinking milk intended for another species,” she said.
A protest against the campaign, organised by the Vegan Information Project, took place last Thursday in Dublin.
Complaints have also been posted on the campaign’s Facebook page, where the NDC has been answering questions about milk, such as whether calves are taken away from their mothers after 24 hours; if there is pus in milk; and if milk can give you acne.
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