A Twitter user recently asked McDonald’s India whether they serve halal meat in their restaurants. They replied saying that they do. Since then, #BoycottMcDonalds has been trending online.
After Zomato got into the halal vs jhatka row, seems like it is now McDonald’s India that has rubbed a certain section of netizens the wrong way. McDonald’s India is receiving backlash on Twitter over the never-ending debate of halal and jhatka meat being served in Indian restaurants, and while halal meat is declared, jhatka is not.
A Twitter user, @hibailyas89 recently asked McDonald’s India whether their restaurants in India have a halal certificate.
McDonald’s India✔@mcdonaldsindiaThank you for taking the time to contact McDonald’s India. We truly appreciate this opportunity to respond to your comments.
The meat that we use, across our restaurants, is of the highest quality and is sourced from government-approved suppliers who are HACCP certified. (1/2)
McDonald’s India✔@mcdonaldsindiaAll our restaurants have HALAL certificates. You can ask the respective restaurant Managers to show you the certificate for your satisfaction and confirmation. (2/2)
They went on to add, “All our restaurants have HALAL certificates. You can ask the respective restaurant Managers to show you the certificate for your satisfaction and confirmation.”
When McDonald’s India replied to the tweet, it instantly received major criticism from Twitter for serving halal meat – and declaring it – in its restaurants. After this, the hashtag #BoycottMcDonalds started trending online; with people calling out McDonald’s for serving halal meat in a non-Muslim majority country.
One Twitter user @HasdaaPunjab wrote, “Go To Hell, then. We Hindus only have JHATKA MEAT, Will educate others as well to not have any Non Veg Food From your chain. If you not want to end up like ZOMATO, ensure that JHATKA MEAT is served. Else, embrace for Financial Loss.”
Go To Hell, then. We Hindus only have JHATKA MEAT, Will educate others as well to not have any Non Veg Food From your chain. If you not want to end up like ZOMATO, ensure that JHATKA MEAT is served. Else, embrace for Financial Loss. https://twitter.com/mcdonaldsindia/status/1164584030647377920?s=19 …
McDonald’s India✔@mcdonaldsindia
Replying to @mcdonaldsindiaAll our restaurants have HALAL certificates. You can ask the respective restaurant Managers to show you the certificate for your satisfaction and confirmation. (2/2)
In July this year, Zomato found itself on the receiving end of much ire on Twitter after its viral tweet: Food has no religion. When Twitter users called out Zomato saying if food had no religion, why did they add a ‘halal’ tag to their restaurants, the food aggregator app tweeted out their statement on the halal-jhatka debate.
Another Twitter user @marquee58 wrote, “Why don’t you open separate outlets for discerning 0.1% peaceful clientele in each city? Let’s see if you can keep this open even for a day…why you expect majority of your clients to suffer halal?”
Prasanta Patnaik