The Farmers’ Union of Wales has welcomed a ruling by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) which bans an advert by vegan pressure group ‘Viva!’ on the grounds that it misled consumers.

The advert wrongly claimed that constituents of cows’ milk could be linked to cancer. However the ASA ruled that this claim could not be substantiated with scientific evidence.

The advert was placed upon buses in Bristol last September.

Dr Hazel Wright, FUW Senior Policy Officer, said:

“Dairy products are known to be a nutritional and beneficial component of a healthy diet. Unfortunately, despite high welfare, environmental and hygiene standards, the dairy sector has frustratingly been subjected to unsubstantiated and detrimental claims by a vegan pressure group.

“FUW dairy farmers will no doubt be pleased by the ASA ruling and we welcome moves which continue to weed out false and misleading claims against our industry,” added Dr Wright.

Alongside a ban on the current advert, the ASA ruling prohibits Viva! from making similar claims in the future.