Updated August 23rd, 2019 at 21:55 IST
McDonald's stirs 'Halal' controversy after Zomato, netizens boycott it
After food delivery giant Zomato, now McDonald's India has stepped in hot water on Thursday after it tweeted about its 'Halal meat', after Zomato controversy
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After food delivery giant Zomato, now McDonald's India has stepped in hot water on Thursday after it tweeted about its 'Halal meat'. The 'Halal' controversy started when an Indian customer questioned if 'McDonald’s India was halal certified?'. To which, McDonald's first replied that all their meat was procured from government-approved suppliers who were certified by India's Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) board. In a bid to reassure the customer, they went on to declare that 'all their restaurants have Halal certificates'. This led to Twitter erupt into a heated debate.
Here's what McDonald's tweeted:
All our restaurants have HALAL certificates. You can ask the respective restaurant Managers to show you the certificate for your satisfaction and confirmation. (2/2)
— McDonald's India (@mcdonaldsindia)
Many Twitter users took offence to be allegedly forced to eat 'Halal' meat. Most users claimed their religious sentiments were hurt. Some (mainly Hindus) questioned what would happen to their preference i.e. 'Jhatka meat'. This lead to a Twitter storm which is currently trending at the time of writing #BoycottMcDonalds.
Here are the objections taken to McDonald's 'Halal' declaration:
Why are Hindus, Sikhs forced to eat Islamic food????????
— Captain Marvel (@masterstuff2)
I'm going to stay as far as possible from McDs if they continue to impose an outsider way of living on Indians.
FO McD
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://t.co/ySGeo7Cxec
— ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (@HasdaaPunjab)
Thanks for telling this. No meat eating at mcd till you start offering Jhatka meat
— #JaiShriRam (@AadiYogi10)
Dear @McDonalds,
— AbhijeethC (@CAbhijeeth)
Per your response, should I understand that your products are not meant for non-Muslims in India? Do let me know. @VeereshMalik @satyanveshan @Matribhakt @harry_delhi @bharatheeyann @ShilpiTiwari5
Zomato stirs controversy
This Twitter storm is similar to Zomato's 'Halal'controversy. Zomato India received massive praise on social media initially on July 31, when it gave a befitting reply to a customer, who cancelled his order because the delivery guy who was assigned for his food delivery was a "non-Hindu". Zomato India said that food does not have a religion. It is a religion.
Food doesn’t have a religion. It is a religion. https://t.co/H8P5FlAw6y
— Zomato India (@ZomatoIN)
But it stoked controversy when it explained its stance with a 'Food for thought' tweet. After the issue heated up, Zomato defended its usage of Halal tag on the platform with a new statement. Zomato said: "it's a result of restaurants seeking that distinction - not us as an aggregator." It continued to explains that restaurants (whether a Muslim establishment or otherwise) serving meat specifically obtain halal certification by an all-India body, not them. Zomato's move was praised by many eminent leaders.
Food for thought pic.twitter.com/zZ3k6YfuzI
— Zomato India (@ZomatoIN)
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal points out the 'hypocrisy' of The Beer Cafe
The #BoycottZomato trend
Zomato's move did not sit well with many netizens. It was soon witnessed that #BoycottZomato was trending. After Zomato's competitor Uber Eats openly backed Zomato's 'Food has no religion' comment, #BoycottUberEats too started trending. Internet was mainly divided between slamming bigotry or think about hurt religious sentiments.
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Published August 23rd, 2019 at 20:23 IST