Vegetarian McDonalds

[thefadedone]

McDonalds is opening two vegetarian restaurants in India. Hopefully this trend will catch on.

http://rt.com/business/news/vegan-mcdonalds-hamburger-india-337/

 

[Danielle]

Makes me wonder if there are any vegan options, or is it just for lacto-vegetarians?
Would be nice to see a vegetarian Mc Donalds in America..

 

[AeryFairy]

On the one hand, I'm really pleased. I wish that they'd start introducing the vegetarian options from those menus over here, so people would at least have the choice. But then, I don't like the idea of McD's making any more money than they already do. Still, hopefully some good will come out of it.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

On the one hand, I'm really pleased. I wish that they'd start introducing the vegetarian options from those menus over here, so people would at least have the choice. But then, I don't like the idea of McD's making any more money than they already do. Still, hopefully some good will come out of it.

This.

 

[Josh James xVx]

I'd be more concerned with the impact on the animals than which company makes profits. Simple inventory management principles dictate that profits gained from selling vegetarian burgers will not be used to produce non vegetarian burgers. Here's a very simple and straight forward analogy.

Let's say you work at a co-op. There are two brands of tomato seeds side by side. The brand on the left sells very well but the brand on the right sells poorly. If you have good business sense and an appreciation of your customer's wants, you'll begin to stock more of the tomatoes on the left and diminish shelf space for the other brand. The same will eventually happen with vegetarian option in non vegetarian places. It's far more likely for such an experiment to succeed if we support it or do not impede it.

Remember that many of the people who are sparing animals with their food choices are not full time vegetarians, and that they make a positive impact too. The literature I promote personally makes mention of the fact that every little bit helps. A world where all the people who currently eat meat decided to suddenly eat a vegetarian McDonald's burger one day a week instead of the traditional one would be a vastly better world for cows as literally millions fewer would be raised and killed for food.

That's the fundamental bottom line we can all identify with as empathetic beings.

 

[beancounter]

I'd be more concerned with the impact on the animals than which company makes profits. Simple inventory management principles dictate that profits gained from selling vegetarian burgers will not be used to produce non vegetarian burgers.

Unless they are legally required to keep funds separate, the profits made from any division of the company will be used to fund projects that the company deems to have the greatest return on investment.

Simply put, the company will use the veggie burger profits combined with the meat burger profits in the same manner. They will not make a distinction between the two sources.

 

[Digger]

Nice to see this, whatever they use the money for I don't really give a rat's behind, if it sends a message.

 

[beancounter]

Nice to see this, whatever they use the money for I don't really give a rat's behind, if it sends a message.

Well they have the greatest chance of success in India but (unfortunately) they'd be hard pressed to be successful in America - with the exception of Boston or San Francisco.

 

[Danielle]

Um, yeah. Supporting places that sell animal products is pretty much unavoidable. :/ Like the grocery store, vegan friendly restaurants (but not all vegan), movie theaters, stuff like that. If you're saying vegans shouldn't go to movies ever because they sell non-vegan stuff I'd just roll my eyes.. >_>

 

[RascalsMom]

If McDonalds offered a vegan item, I'd buy it. I'll buy vegan food pretty much anywhere -- I want to support companies making more vegan options, make it profitable, get it out to the public, etc.

 

[sleepydvdr]

I would bet the vegetarian McD's is a franchise. The owner of that franchise may or may not be veg. But the corporation of McD's is as you described. They will reap money from the franchisee and not really care about where it came from. However, if vegetarian foods caught on with them, they might pay attention.

It is a little puzzling that the veg*n movement has gained a lot of ground in the past decade and McD's hasn't responded hardly at all. Seems like they would would approach it with cold hard numbers. 5% of the population is veg*n. Their robotic response should be to offer 5% veg*n items on their menu.

Last I checked, only their crappy baked apple pies were veg friendly (not sure if they are vegan). I said it a million times in the past... why did they go to those awful baked pies? The fried ones from the 80s & early 90s were awesome. What they offer now is an insult.

Anyways, the only thing I have had from them in the past 4 years was an Asian style side salad with a soy-ginger dressing. The last time I was there, they no longer offered that. So, I haven't been back in at least 2 years. Like I said, they aren't catering to veg*ns. At least not around my town. All they have is meat down here in SC.

 

[AeryFairy]

Um, yeah. Supporting places that sell animal products is pretty much unavoidable. :/ Like the grocery store, vegan friendly restaurants (but not all vegan), movie theaters, stuff like that. If you're saying vegans shouldn't go to movies ever because they sell non-vegan stuff I'd just roll my eyes.. >_>

I think part of the problem for me with McD's vs. just about anywhere else selling/profiting from non-veg*n items is that McDonald's were a huge part of the reason I went vegetarian in the first place. I saw footage of their slaughterhouses specifically, and I just haven't been able to eat there since - even though it took me a while longer to twig that that kind of suffering happened for all my meatfood. Objectively, I know it's not a whole lot different (although as noted above they do seem to show a heck of a lot more reluctance to introduce veg*n food than most places), but I just can't get past my brain re-running the footage every time I think about them.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

I also have a stronger aversion to McD's vs other fast food restaurants. Part of it is their reluctance to offer anything I can eat. The other part... Idk, I just don't like them.

Burger King at least has a veggie burger at some locations (it's not vegan, though, sadface), but McD's has... nothing. Even if one franchise owner decided to put a veggie burger on their menu, the fries are still covered in dead cow. No thanks. There are tons of places that offer food I can eat, I'll skip McDonald's.

 

[Danielle]

I also have a stronger aversion to McD's vs other fast food restaurants. Part of it is their reluctance to offer anything I can eat. The other part... Idk, I just don't like them.

Burger King at least has a veggie burger at some locations (it's not vegan, though, sadface), but McD's has... nothing. Even if one franchise owner decided to put a veggie burger on their menu, the fries are still covered in dead cow. No thanks. There are tons of places that offer food I can eat, I'll skip McDonald's.

yeah, and the beef fat :/

 

[Pickle Juice]

I'd be more concerned with the impact on the animals than which company makes profits. Simple inventory management principles dictate that profits gained from selling vegetarian burgers will not be used to produce non vegetarian burgers. Here's a very simple and straight forward analogy.

Let's say you work at a co-op. There are two brands of tomato seeds side by side. The brand on the left sells very well but the brand on the right sells poorly. If you have good business sense and an appreciation of your customer's wants, you'll begin to stock more of the tomatoes on the left and diminish shelf space for the other brand. The same will eventually happen with vegetarian option in non vegetarian places. It's far more likely for such an experiment to succeed if we support it or do not impede it.

Remember that many of the people who are sparing animals with their food choices are not full time vegetarians, and that they make a positive impact too. The literature I promote personally makes mention of the fact that every little bit helps. A world where all the people who currently eat meat decided to suddenly eat a vegetarian McDonald's burger one day a week instead of the traditional one would be a vastly better world for cows as literally millions fewer would be raised and killed for food.

That's the fundamental bottom line we can all identify with as empathetic beings.

I fail to see how refusing to support a company whose ethics are non-existent hurts animals or makes me less empathetic to their plight. My reasons for detesting mega-corps like McDonalds go way beyond the fact that they serve billions of dead animals to people at dirt cheap prices, though to me that is obscene enough as it is. They harm animals, the environment, and their customers, and I am not about to start giving them my money just because they have a few franchises in India that serve vegetarian fast "food".

This is one vegan who ain't lovin' it.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

I also don't feel any obligation to support a company that I don't like, even if they offer a vegan item on their menu. There is a limited amount of food I can consume, and I have a limited amount of money to spend. I see no reason for me to use those finite things on a company I don't like.

OTOH, I wouldn't actively oppose McD's having a veg*n option. It would be great for those who want it, I'm just not one of those people.


I have had people tell me I HAVE to support a particular product or company, or else I was hurting the vegan movement or whatever. No, I don't, and no, I'm not.

 

[otomik]

I don't get it. having gone to McDonalds in india a few times it's pretty easy to figure it out vegetarian style since they separate the menus clearly (India in general is pretty great with the green dot red dot system). and why Amritsar? Sikh activists have sometimes highlighted the fact they can eat beef dispite some attempts to put them in the hindutva camp

 

[otomik]

they added the mcspicy paneer more recently because they wanted a more expensive item on the veg menu.

 

[Digger]

Hey Otomik, a lot of folks are glad to see you here... introduce yourself when you get a chance.

 

[Second Summer]

I think this won't be an issue we'll have to confront over here in a while. McDonald's adapts just slightly to local cuisine in a few of the countries where they do business, but I'd be surprised to see a lot of vegetarian options on their menu in the West any time soon.