Two Indian flags joining marks the sign at a local McDonalds chain restaurant in New Delhi, India. The fast food giant will open two vegetarian branches in the country. According to the AFP,
McDonald will open its first non-meat restaurant next year in India, in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar. The first branch will be open at the much-visited Golden Temple, another vegetarian McDonald’s also planned for Katra, a town near the Hindu pilgrimage site of Vaishno Devi. On the menu will be vegetarian choices tailored to India’s cultural tastes.
The company has long customized menus to different countries abroad and considering that India [which is very big on vegetarianism] Mc Donald’s have done jus the same. There are kosher McDonald’s in Israel and Buenos Aires, McBaguettes in France, McArabia pita-style sandwiches in the Middle East and more. Much of the Indian population avoids certain types of meat. Hindus consider cows sacred and don’t eat beef, while Muslims avoid pork. Indian McDonald’s restaurants already feature much less meat than the chain’s locations in other countries. Although this might seem like a nice gesture some hindu folks are displease by Mc Donald’s offer and feel their the giant franchise seeks to humiliate its people and religion.”
“It’s an attempt not only to make money but also to deliberately humiliate Hindus. It is an organization associated with cow slaughter. If we make an announcement that they’re slaughtering cows, people won’t eat there. We are definitely going to fight it,” said national co-convener S. Gurumurthy.
Hopefully Mc Donald’s intentions were good with this new proposal but nonetheless I must say that I commend the McDonald chain to take such a brave step in customizing their first vegetarian restaurant in India, and hopefully other countries will follow suit.
Source: LA Times