An online petition requesting McDonald’s Canada to bring food options from the Indian McDonald’s menu has recently gained traction in Brampton.
Anuj Patel, who started the petition wrote “McDonald’s Canada has very limited options for vegetarians as compared to McDonald’s India.”
Patel started this request on Change.org two years ago in order to bring vegetarian alternatives to the popular food chain for Canadians.
The petition has been gaining momentum and is approaching 7,500 supporters, which according to Change.org is an important milestone for it to get a reaction.
“There are a variety of options that we would love to be introduced in Canadian McDonald’s menu, which would cater to the vast majority of (the) vegetarian population residing in Brampton,” Patel wrote.
According to the StatCan report from 2021, there are approximately 197,000 residents in Brampton who have Indo-Aryan or Dravidian mother tongues.
The petition asks for items like McAloo Tikki burger, McSpicy Paneer burger, McVeggie burger, McSpicy Chicken burger, Piri-Piri fries and Veg Pizza McPuff.
The petition demands food options from the Indian McDonald's menu. Photo credit: Change.org Website
Although McDonald’s Canada hasn’t released an official response to the petition, a spokesperson told Yahoo News Canada it is committed to offering a variety of menu choices.
It said it would continue to listen to their guests to understand their needs, changing trends and evolving tastes.
Eshani Baijal, of Brampton, said religious restrictions do not allow her to eat meat on some days of the week. This makes it difficult for her to eat out at any fast-food chain due to a lack of vegetarian food options, she said.
“I cannot just always eat fries,” Baijal said. “It would be great if some food choices from the Indian menu are introduced here.”
A petition supporter said on the website that McDonald’s should make vegetarian options “available all over Canada not just in Brampton. The flavours will kill it here!”
Another supporter said, “it will introduce more options for vegetarians. As of now, people have nothing to select from the menu, especially in Brampton.”
There are 18 McDonald’s restaurants in Brampton of the 490 across Ontario.