World's first veggie McDonald's

Culture Posted on 07/09/2012

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Fast food giants McDonald's have announced their plans to open two vegetarian outlets in the north indian towns of Amritsar and Kashmir.

The first of these meat-free restaurants is set to open in June 2013 and will be located near the Golden Temple in Amritsar - one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Sikhs alike.

The second is planned for a site close to the Vaishno Devi cave shrine in Kashmir, in the north-west of the country. If they prove to be a success, the American franchise could consider expanding their veggie restaurants further.

The new menu will see Big Macs and cheeseburgers replaced by the McAloo Tikki burger - already a popular option in their Indian restaurants - and the Pizza McPuff, a cheese and vegetable pastry.

According to McDonald's spokesman Rajesh Kumar Maini, the decision to open the vegetarian restaurants was religiously motivated. "The reasons were very compelling - cow slaughter is not allowed because of religious reasons and we couldn't do pork either" he explained.

Currently 40% of the Indian population are vegetarian. The country's two main religions, Hinduism and Islam, forbid the consumption of beef (Hindus) and pork (Muslims).

The fast food chain will be hoping to follow the examples of its competitors in the region, capitalising on a market of around 500 million people.

Find your hotel in Kashmir with the easyvoyage.co.uk search engine.

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In brief : Culture