An advertisement for a brand of organic milk has been banned for using a 'misleading' claim that its production is good for the land.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the Arla advert after the watchdog upheld a reader's complaint.
The ad claimed the milk was 'helping support a more sustainable future' but the regulator said it was misleading.
One person complained based on a belief that all forms of dairy farming, including rearing cows under an organic system, are bad for the environment.
But Michael Oakes, NFU Dairy Board chairman, said the ruling was 'disappointing'.
"It's been a long-held belief that that organic farming does hold benefits," he said.
"We are frustrated with how the ASA works, and we'd be really interested to learn how they reach these decisions."
'Positive impact'
The Soil Association, which sets organic standards and campaigns on behalf of the industry, insists organic farms are better for the land because fewer chemicals are used and wildlife is encouraged.
Arla submitted evidence from the Soil Association to back up its marketing claims.
However, the ASA said consumers would interpret the 'good for the land' claim to mean that production of the milk would have an overall positive impact on the environment, taking into account its full life cycle.
The ASA said: "We acknowledged that Arla had provided evidence regarding the organic farming methods used and that they believed this was more sustainable than non-organic farming.
"However, we did not consider they had substantiated that organic milk production had an overall positive impact on the environment, taking into account its full life cycle.
"We therefore concluded that the claim was misleading."
