From Advertising to Biodiversity: Analysis of How Animal Products are Promoted

State support for the sale of animal products tends to increase the demand for resource-intensive foods. This can increase the environmental impact, including negative effects on biodiversity.

As part of the Swiss Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan, the federal government analysed the impact of selected subsidies on biodiversity in 2024 in order to draw up possible proposals for reform. The instruments analysed included federal sales subsidies for milk, dairy products, cheese, meat and eggs, which receive CHF 35–38 million of the total CHF 65 million in federal subsidies each year.

Against this background, the Federal Office for Agriculture commissioned Bern University of Applied Sciences’ School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences and the consultancy Ecoplan to analyse the potential impact of sales promotion on biodiversity. The study examined the extent to which sales promotion can influence consumer behaviour and what this means for biodiversity.

Impact of advertising: Not quantifiable, but present

The study shows that generic advertising, a key component of federal sales promotion, influences purchasing and consumption behaviour, but is difficult to quantify. There are indications that advertising increases the amount of animal products consumed and causes a shift in preference towards Swiss products. As the impact of sales promotion on purchasing and consumption behaviour could not be clearly quantified, two scenarios were drawn up on the basis of a literature analysis and expert interviews:

1. If sales promotion is discontinued, consumption of animal products falls by 2%.
2. If sales promotion is discontinued, 5% of Swiss products are replaced by imports.

The two scenarios were presented separately in order to better illustrate possible effects. In reality, however, the effects overlap, and so it is not possible to separate them.

To describe possible effects on biodiversity, the development of ammonia emissions and land use in Switzerland was calculated for each of the two scenarios.

Animal products and biodiversity

The promotion of animal products tends to have a negative impact on biodiversity. This is because the production of meat and milk is resource-intensive and has a high impact on the environment. Ammonia emissions and intensive land use in particular have a direct negative impact on biodiversity. In scenarios 1 and 2, there is a reduction in ammonia emissions of 1.60% and 4.75% respectively (in line with emission-weighted, reduced livestock numbers). The two scenarios, in which sales promotion is discontinued, suggest that a reduction in the consumption of animal products could have positive effects on biodiversity in Switzerland. However, it is not possible to quantify or predict the effects on biodiversity at local and regional level on the basis of the national data available.

In scenario 1, discontinuing sales promotion would have a positive impact on biodiversity in Switzerland, as consumption of animal products is reduced. In scenario 2, in which it would lead to an increase in imports, the positive effect in Switzerland could be offset by negative effects abroad. As a result, the net effect cannot be estimated precisely.