McDonald's faces boycott threats in India for serving halal meat

[TomSea]

Excerpt:

McDonald's faces boycott threats in India for serving halal meat
by Bilal Kuchay26 Aug 2019

New Delhi, India - McDonald's has faced boycott calls in India from right-wing Hindus after the global fast-food chain said its outlets served halal meat.

The controversy erupted after McDonald's India said on Twitter that all its restaurants are halal certified.

"All our restaurants have HALAL certificates. You can ask the respective restaurant Managers to show you the certificate for your satisfaction and confirmation," the fast-food company said in a reply to a user's inquiry.

However, the reply angered many people on Twitter, who called for a boycott of the US chain, with the hashtag #BoycottMcDonalds trending in India.

Many questioned why McDonald's was serving halal meat in India where 80 percent of the 1.3 billion people are Hindus. The McDonald's menu in India has no beef or pork products, serving instead a range of vegetarian options as well as chicken and fish....

Article continues at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/mcdonald-faces-boycott-threats-india-serving-halal-meat-190826083241873.html

Okay, good article which I'm still trying to understand the whole.

We know Hindus, cow is sacred, they don't eat beef, so the above says the McDonald's menu doesn't serve any beef.

So, in India, they still must think using the term "Halal" infringes a bit on the Indian culture. So, the article takes some reading. I don't think McDonald's likely set out to do anything offensive to the majority of India but it seems to have turned out that way.

Comparing the McDonald's Menus in the U.S. and India
BigMac vs. McPaneer

https://spoonuniversity.com/place/comparing-the-mcdonald-menus-in-the-u-s-and-india

So, whatever the differences are, we don't need to do PhD research to find out, just the basic story.

[thackney]

So, in India, they still must think using the term "Halal" infringes a bit on the Indian culture.

It is religious differences.  Learn about Jhatka versus Halal.

The differences between Hindus and Muslims come to the fore even in the manner of slaughtering animals for meat
https://spirituality.knoji.com/islam-and-hinduism-two-methods-of-slaughtering-animals-for-meat-halal-and-jhatka/

[PeteS in CA]

It is religious differences.  Learn about Jhatka versus Halal.

The differences between Hindus and Muslims come to the fore even in the manner of slaughtering animals for meat
https://spirituality.knoji.com/islam-and-hinduism-two-methods-of-slaughtering-animals-for-meat-halal-and-jhatka/

Informative, though Sikhism is not a form or branch of Hinduism, contrary to the article.

Hindus are not entirely homogeneous about being vegetarian. Painting with a broad broom, the north, which had been for centuries ruled by Muslims is less strict, while the south tends to be VERY vegetarian.

The "right-wing" or "nationalist" Hindus have some/many who are very extreme, resorting to violence against Muslims and Christians. I'm not sure it's particularly meaningful to toss around bogey-epithets like "right-wing" or "nationalist", but I think these extremists do want to create something sort of analogous to Iran's Islamic state (or the Burmese-Buddhist state Myanmar was trying to create).

[Cyber Liberty]

So Mickey Dee's is finding out what every other business who dabbles in pandering knows:  "Who do you want pissed at you?"

[PeteS in CA]

So Mickey Dee's is finding out what every other business who dabbles in pandering knows:  "Who do you want pissed at you?"

M's meat is halal, so they're "pandering" to Muslims. And M doesn't serve beef, so they're "pandering" to Hindus. Or maybe they're just trying to serve what they think their customers in India want, like any business operating in India would.

[Cyber Liberty]

M's meat is halal, so they're "pandering" to Muslims. And M doesn't serve beef, so they're "pandering" to Hindus. Or maybe they're just trying to serve what they think their customers in India want, like any business operating in India would.

Heck, I'm just surprised MD's is even in that market.  Since this only became a story when they tried introducing Halel, who knows.  Maybe the Hindu keep an uneasy eye on Indian Muslims?  I'm still trying to get my head around the notion of a MD's without hamburgers.

[Wingnut]

eAt mOre ChickIn

[PeteS in CA]

Heck, I'm just surprised MD's is even in that market.  Since this only became a story when they tried introducing Halel, who knows.  Maybe the Hindu keep an uneasy eye on Indian Muslims?  I'm still trying to get my head around the notion of a MD's without hamburgers.

Many/most food processing facilities in India do foods that are spiced with curry, along with their other products. So the other products also get some of the curry flavoring as well. So for breakfast ... Curry Frosted Flakes!

(One of my kids, in  two trips, has spent about 4 months in India. Another spent a couple of months there.)

[Cyber Liberty]

Many/most food processing facilities in India do foods that are spiced with curry, along with their other products. So the other products also get some of the curry flavoring as well. So for breakfast ... Curry Frosted Flakes!

(One of my kids, in  two trips, has spent about 4 months in India. Another spent a couple of months there.)

My BIL is from there, one of the Delhis, and you sayeth truth about Curry-everything.

[PeteS in CA]

eAt mOre ChickIn

This is well off-topic, but was at a CfA last evening for dinner. When we left at ~7:50PM, there were still peop-le in the order line, and a good-sized line for the drive-through. Seven years ago when the whole boycott kerfuffle started, the nearest CfA to Silicon Valley was an hour and a half drive away, in Fairfield. Now there are four CfAs that are regular restaurants, plus a fifth location in San Jose Int'l Airport.