Chris Packham is not a man known for backing down from a fight. Whether it's badgers, bird of prey persecution, or the BBC's scheduling decisions, the wildlife presenter has a track record of picking battles and winning them. So when he turned his binoculars on the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board's "Let's Eat Balanced" campaign, you'd have been wise to put your money on Packham rather than the quango.
On 13 May 2026, the ASA published its sprawling ruling on a complaint by Packham against AHDB's multi-platform campaign promoting British beef, lamb, and dairy. The campaign comprised three TV ads, two national press ads, a website page, and an Instagram post — seven ads in total, seen between September 2024 and February 2025. Three issues were investigated: first, whether the ads misleadingly omitted information about the environmental impact of meat and dairy; second, whether carbon footprint comparison claims in two press ads were misleading and unsubstantiated; and