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The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

Meat-free McDonald’s opening in India: Why not in Chicago?

McDonald’s has decided to take its low-value prices to a new demographic. The company announced Sept. 4 that it will be opening two new vegetarian restaurants in India. The first one is set to open its doors in the city of Amritsar in 2013 followed shortly by another one in the Vaishno Devi cave shrine.

According to Yahoo!, there are 33,500 McDonald’s locations worldwide, but only 250 are in India. Beef and pork are not served in India due to religious reasons, and the kitchens are already separated for cooking vegetarian and meat-based foods. With the new openings, McDonald’s is trying to respect the Hindu and Muslim cultures and offer new tastes to targeted populations. 

McDonald’s should consider opening vegetarian restaurants in the United States, especially in Chicago since the number of vegetarians is rising. According to statisticbrain.com, 10 percent of adults in America, or roughly seven million people, consider themselves vegetarians. Chicago is also ranked as the 10th-largest vegetarian city, while Portland, Ore. is ranked the first.

Opening a veggie McDonald’s would not only revolutionize more than just giving vegetarians a quick way to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, but it would be a fresh move on the company’s part.

Because fast food is one of the leading contributors to obesity in the United Sates, this new concept could help out consumers on a time crunch and help pay for meals that are cheaper and healthier.  

Chicago also has a large demographic of people who are or who would want to be vegetarians, but might not have access to convenient restaurants that are dedicated to healthy and tasty vegetarian food. Restaurants, such as The Chicago Diner located at 3411 North Halsted Street, offer meat-free food but are pricey. For example, the “BBQ Bacun Cheezeburger” costs $10.50 at the diner.

Communities such as Wicker Park and Lincoln Park have a large number of students and young adults who have a particularly hard time finding restaurants that are affordable. For someone who is vegetarian or wanting to switch to a new diet, the choices for strictly vegetarian establishments are rather limited.

Instead of picking up a greasy cheeseburger that contains a lot of salt and fat, college students could indulge in a vegetarian burger that wouldn’t contain as many saturated fats. At the very least, McDonald’s should do a trial run in Chicago and just add a few veggie burgers to see how the general public would perceive it.

Amy Erb, a vegetarian of 20 years, supports the addition of a meat-free McDonald’s in Chicago. “I think it would be a great inclusion to the city because it would allow people the opportunity to eat healthier on a daily basis,” said Erb. 

Erb worked at DDB Needham, an advertising agency, where McDonald’s was one of its clients. “When I worked at DDB downtown, I would often have to grab something quick, which was never a healthy choice. I’m glad the company is taking such a ‘green’ initiative,” said Erb, laughing.

McDonald’s new concept makes it evident that the business is set to thrive by anticipating market changes and providing choices that not only satisfy consumer needs, but also are responsible for giving people healthy choices to live better lives.

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