The McChronicles knows that McDonald's knows way more than we do about satisfying their vegetarian constituency. After all, McDonald's does quite well in places like India and Malaysia that have large vegetarian populations.The McChronicles is ignorant when it comes to the needs of vegetarians, and we don't know much about McDonald's global vegetarian position, so we were interested when a veggie friend (lives on the west coast of the USA) wrote us recently and said:
"... but I still won't go until they have a veggie burger or really decent salad option. Or take the beef fat out of their fries. They could be really stupendous if they came up with some healthy options that were still tasty (i.e. not sliced apples in a cup). I've always said someone will make a lot of money if they come up with a whole, organic, healthy fast food option. How come no one listens?"
We wonder:
- What, from a vegetarian's perspective, is not to like about the existing McDonald's salads?
- Wasn't the beef fat removed already? Or is the issue here the fact that people are not SURE the beef is removed?
- Aren't apples "tasty"? What else could be offered that would be "tasty"?
- Doesn't McDonald's actively promote their vegetarian option to vegetarians?
- What is McDonald's position on offering vegetarian options?
Here we have someone saying that McDonald's could "be really stupendous" to a certain demographic by making a few changes. We guess these changes are a lot harder than they look, and we are sure that McDonald's has been down this road a million miles. So, what's up with this?
- from a customer perspective?
- from the corporate McDonald's perspective?
The McChronicles: a blog about, not affiliated with, McDonald's.
Image: The McChronicles
14 comments:
I am a huge health nut and a vegitarian. 5 apple slices for supper just arent filling enough. They need more vegitarian options!
Sometimes you just want a sandwich or a burger and not a salad. Lets face it, most people don't go to McDonalds for their salads and it is not the top of the list for healthy restaurants. You go there for a treat. By offering veggie burgers and marketing them in the areas where the demographics fit (LA, NYC, San Francisco, etc...) you could win back some of your vegetarian customers. I used to be a big fan of McDonalds until I became a vegetarian. I'm just not going to bother going there for a salad or apples.
Jenni,
Thanks for the insightful comment. Appreciated.
I'm a vegitarian and I find that McDonalds salads are really not tasty! I feel like I might aswell just be eating grass.
Apples yeah they're tasty, but what I want is a big fat burger covered in salad cream/bbq sauce and possibly cheese. I'm sick of people thinking that because I don't eat meat all I eat is salad and fruit.
Also, on my local McDonalds, there is NO vegitarian option other than fries. They don't sell salads, they only rarely do the veggie deli and it certainly isn't once a week!
Apparently if you ask for the Veggie Deluxe most places sell it, mine just looked at me funny and told me the vegetarian option was the fish burger...
Sorry for the rant, just my views on it!
I used to love going to McDonalds with the kids but since becomming veggie its rubbish. The veg options are not nice, there are lots of us veggies pleeeeaaaase can we have some nice food??
Miss Hoolie:
Please provide a list of what you'd like to see offered.
Would love to see
Veggie McChicken (I used to love their spicy chicken sandwhiches)
Veggie Burger
Vegetarian Fries (beef flavouring is still listed as an ingredient on their web site)
There are a lot companies out there making really tasty veggie products, if McDonald's teamed up and added their own twist/flavorings to them they could have some really great food.
Obv not the healthiest choice for a vegetarian, but sometimes we want junk food too.
In India they manage to have a great many delicious and nutritional vegetarian options and they seem to sell wonderfully or they did when I visited. The tasteless soy veggie burgers here -- they used to have them for a while here in NYC -- can't hold a candle to what they have over there. They have three different kids of vegetarian burgers as well as wraps etc. I know it's a cultural thing, but at least the McVeggie might be replicated ...
Whatever it is, I don't see why they can't import the stuff.
the only thing i want them to add is vegetarian mcnuggets!
there is no vegetarian happy meals and it would be a good choice.
they have a veggie deli sandwich which is a bit like a burger but kids are fussy and wont like all the stuff in it (i dont either!)
veggie mcnuggets would be plain and simple and suitable for kids or adults alike :)
a HAPPYMEAL where all the options involve killing animals isnt THAT happy really is it?
VEGGIE MCNUGGETS PLEASE :D
I went vegetarian and burgers were the main thing that I missed that was readily available to me. I don't want to go somewhere that smells like meat and not have something comparable to order if I want.
Besides, Burger King has a veggie burger and many other menu items of note. I go there instead of McDonalds most of the time because I know that if I don't want salad I can have a burger.
Right now McDonalds sent me two free coupons for the new Big Mac wrap, and I have to give them off to someone else because I can't eat them.
I should note that when I said 'readily available' I meant that I could buy them in a grocery store. I end up not going out to eat more often than not because most affordable chain restaurants, even if they do offer vegetarian options, have lackluster options.
One thing I'd also like to know is why we can't have a veggie bacon burger. Vegetarian bacon exists and is delicious. It is microwavable, so it wouldn't come into contact with other stuff that has been cooking meat.
I definitely always convince my family to go to burger king now. They actually have really good veggie burgers! Mcdonald's NEEDS to step into the time period and get a veggie burger! then I will eat it!
I'm sorry to say this but i found out that not even the veggie burgers that some places sell are suitable for vegetarians,
I also found out that only the plain salad with no dressing is suitable for veggies!
I'm sorry but this is comepletely out of order and it should be changed.
I am also fed up of seing everywhere just veggie burgers, the only place that I will go to eat is wimpy and that's because they do soya products.
This is completely out of order and there are so many vegetarian's out there that would like to be re assured that the food they are eating is suitable for them!
Would love to see a BLT with Veganaise and vegetarian bacon, McChicken sandwich and nuggets (Quorn makes good vegetarian chicken), baked potato, vegetarian chili, and then sides like you would see if you were grilling burgers - potato salad, baked beans, macaroni salad, fries in healthier oil, chips in a healthier oil.
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