The ASA has rejected a complaint against an organic milk ad that claimed organic cows eat a more natural diet than conventionally farmed cows.
The London Underground poster, run by the Organic Trade Board, stated that “organic cows eat a much more natural diet that’s at least 60% grass, roughage or forage, guaranteed”.
The complainant claimed the ad was misleading, believing that most non-organic dairy cows would have a diet of over 60% grass, roughage or forage.
The Advertising Standards Authority said it understood that the 60% claim was based on dry weight rather than fresh weight because it was the basis for the relevant EU Regulation governing the amount of forage an organic cow must eat. Measuring by fresh weight meant the figures would be skewed by the amount of water contained in the grass.
“We therefore considered it was reasonable to base the claim on dry weight of the feed,” the ASA said. It said it had not been provided with evidence regarding the diets of non-organic dairy cows. It concluded the ad was not misleading.
The Organic Trade Board was pleased the ASA agreed that it had “stuck to the facts”, said campaign manager Catherine Fookes. “Organic dairy farms are inspected annually to a legally defined standard requiring the diet of dairy cows to be at least 60% grass, roughage or forage, guaranteed.”
Consumers had the right to know the differences in what they were buying to allow them to make their own informed choice, she added.
The ad showed two cows with a speech bubble next to each one. The first one read: this latest high-protein diet is amazing, hun. You must try it.” The other read “No thanks, love. I’m organic. I only do natural.” Text underneath stated: “They may look the same, but organic cows eat a much more natural diet that’s at least 60% grass, roughage or forage, guaranteed. You get what you pay for, so buy something organic today. Organic. Naturally different.”
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