McDonald’s Going Vegetarian in India

Usually we applaud people when they cut down on their meat consumption because, in case you haven’t heard, a meat eater’s diet has a considerably larger carbon footprint when compared to vegetarians. Also it’s generally healthier not to consume meat with all the antibitotics, fillers, and junk thats in it these days.  Therefore, it’s only natural that we are smirking at the thought of a meatless McDonald’s menu. According to recent reports, McDonald’s will be opening up its very first 100% vegetarian restaurant in Northern India.
Vegetarianism in India is not a new health trend or fad but has been a lifestyle for centuries. India holds the most vegetarians than any other country in the world (40% of their population is vegetarian, which equals to 400 million people, according to a 2006 survey conducted by a Hindu magazine). We can attribute much of this to the fact that they have a massively high population and because of their religious background and beliefs. A majority of the people in India are Hindu (80%) which is a religion where cows are revered as a source of food (for milk and cheese not meat!) and symbol of life. They are viewed as sacred and for this reason shouldn’t be killed. Even Gandhi wrote, “If someone were to ask me what the most important outward manifestation of Hinduism was, I would suggest that it was the idea of cow protection.”
Currently out of the 270 McDonald’s that reside in India, none serve beef or pork. Instead of a big Mac, you can except to see a patty made of spicy potatoes called the Mkaloo Tikki Burger. And if you think you will see a triple Angus bacon and cheese guess again. In its place will be the Mcveggie made of bread, potato, peas, carrots, and a selection of Indian spices. About 50% of their current menu is vegetarian with some chicken and fish options. McDonald’s has also considered India’s cultural beliefs by preparing and cooking food in separate kitchens to ensure their isn’t any contamination from either side. A system of color-coding is used to transport their inventory and it is stocked and cooked in their own kitchen spaces.

For years McDonald’s has desperately tried to establish a market in India. The all veggie restaurant is their far-reaching attempt to expand business and according to their history the megachain has been quite successful at tailoring its menu to better suit the locale. A spokesperson for McDonald’s in India Rajesh Kumar Maini said the market is very small there and that the all-vegetarian stores will be a growth opportunity for the chain.
The very first vegetarian Mickey D’s will be opening next year near the Golden Temple, a sacred pilgrimage site that is considered holy by the Sikhs, in the city of Amritsar in northern India. They will be opening a second location close to the Vaishno Devi, which is a highly regarded Hindu temple located in the city of Jammu and Kashmir.
So what can we take from all this? If anything it’s that the lifestyle of the people of India are having a positive impact on climate change. Not to mention they are probably a lot healthier because of it. Even the hardcore non-vegetarians are only eating meat once or twice a week. It just makes you wonder how different things would be in the United States in terms of physical and environmental health if we had all vegetarian fast food restaurants. But instead we consume around 800 million pounds of beef soley from Mcdonald’s, which is about 3% of all meat consumed in the country. I’ll leave you with a quote from the wise and trusty  Albert Einstein, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”