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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to think that McDonalds need to up their vegan game

513 replies

Hiphopopotamus · 02/01/2020 19:36

As a vegan the start of veganuary is always really exciting when all the new companies bring out their vegan stuff - this year seems to be particularly great - Greggs have brought the vegan steak bake, kfc have their vegan burger and McDonald’s....well they’ve taken the horrible goujon things they have in their veggie burger, sold them separately and marketed them as a new vegan meal! Grin AIBU to think that they need to seriously up their game?

OP posts:
Crazybunnylady123 · 03/01/2020 12:08

I think it’s a positive thing that companies are starting to think of other plant based food options, which avoid animal cruelty. It’s the little changes that starts the ball rolling.
Yes they are just thinking about profit, but if as vegetarians and vegans we choose to make them profit they will be more willing to more change.
I am a vegetarian but I enjoy oat milk with my cereal, hot chocolate etc. I like the idea of more food options available if I get stuck.
I think of it along the lines of if I don’t eat eggs I’m not voting but if I buy the free range ones I’m telling people I don’t want eggs from abused animals. There’s no reason for chickens to be hurt and abused for their eggs so I just don’t get people!
I won’t have leather in my house, I have organic skincare and household cleaners that are cruelty free. I don’t buy anything from company’s if the parent company tests on animals.

EerieSilence · 03/01/2020 12:11

@BinkyandBunty - I am only applying standards which vegans claim themselves, nothing else.
Ask anyone who went vegan why and you get all the noble "I love animals", "It's better for environment" etc.
My argument is not against veganism - eat whatever you like - it's about the fact that the future of eating vegan won't be the beautiful environmentally friendly, sustainable and healthy. The same companies which are offering shitty food to the masses now will offer the same shitty food in future, just not dairy or meat based.

Lordfrontpaw · 03/01/2020 12:14

Willis - haven't you eaten out with someone 'doing Veganary' (just to do veganary for their social media accounts, not for any health or environmental reasons). It can be quite a performance.

EerieSilence · 03/01/2020 12:14

@elmosducks - is describing the future of vegan food as factory and lab based really hateful?
Nobody has disputed so far that what I am predicting is not true. Nobody has managed to explain to me how the people who can't afford organic and local food and rely on whatever the supermarkets can give them in terms of low price without looking at the country of origin will become a part of the environmentally sustainable and more ecological future.
There's no hatred in this, only pointing out that small-scale vs. large-scale is a hell of a difference.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 03/01/2020 12:15

Don't you just love the tribunal finding, Lordfrontpaw? Wink

Fair enough for the sincere, genuinely committed vegans, but now the faddish attention seekers will be rubbing their thighs because "ethical veganism's" deemed a belief and therefore a protected characteristic

Their choice of course, but how long before someone insists that failing to cater to their every whim constitutes a hate crime?

WotchaTalkinBoutWillis · 03/01/2020 12:18

Willis - haven't you eaten out with someone 'doing Veganary' (just to do veganary for their social media accounts, not for any health or environmental reasons). It can be quite a performance

That's nowt to do with Veganuary though and more the fact that you're choosing to socialise with knobs Grin

BinkyandBunty · 03/01/2020 12:18

See @EerieSilence, now you're telling the vegans on the thread what they claim, why they went vegan, and what they think the future will look like. A lot of it is at complete odds with what the vegans themselves have said, i.e. you're talking shite.

No vegan or plant eater or whatever the meat eaters tell us we can call ourselves today thinks they're going to save the world with their food choices. They just don't want to eat dead animals.

Lordfrontpaw · 03/01/2020 12:24

It was a work lunch - I had no choice, it was a supplier.

I tried to explain what on the menu was ok for vegans (as a veggie of 36 years) but no, the waitress was grilled - at length - and the phrase 'I'm doing Veganary' (with the group murmur of 'oh you are so good!') was announced a few times. Doesn't stop them ordering only ham or chicken sandwiches as their office lunch meetings when I go!

Almost as good as the girlfriend of a friend who told the waiter that she was veggie (news to me). Asked him about the items on the menu - then plumped for the lamb.

Yup, I sure can pick 'em...

EerieSilence · 03/01/2020 12:25

@BinkyandBunty - do you think this is the first time I ever encountered vegans? I had them preaching to me left and right.
Where am I talking shite? Dispute please what I said about how the future vegan food for masses will look like. Tell me your idea of how the quality of food will look like when dairy and meat will be replaced by fungus and soy on a larger scale.
If you are telling me that vegans today like and want to eat shite (like McDonald's or Greggs vegan pastries), just not animal based shite, that's fine and that's where I stand corrected and apologise to those vegans who I accused of any higher standards for their food.
I, for one prefer eating dead animals and have no problems with that. I also prefer eating proper cheese, eggs and drink milk. I love eating honey.

MyGhastIsFlabbered · 03/01/2020 12:25

I wasn't talking about 'work buffets' I was talking about high street restaurants. I eat out quite a lot and there always seems to be plenty of vegetarian options and a couple of vegan ones if I'm lucky.

I was vegetarian in the early 90s and remember when an omelette was invariably the only veggie option in most places. It's nothing like that now.

I'll never understand why people are so bloody concerned about what others eat.

elmosducks · 03/01/2020 12:26

@EerieSilence this is the same for anything, small locally produced/hand crafted/artisanal to mass produced.

This is a huge problem that Western society and consumerism have created.

Not just vegans.

You are honestly being ridiculous and I dispute your interpretation of veganism and your predictions.

I do, however, give it some credit for all modern day consumerism though.

MorticiaAddamsIsMyStyleGuru · 03/01/2020 12:32

In Germany there is a superb Vegan burger. Just wish they did it here instead of the limp offering we have. For the record, I do a plant based diet so I'm not a vegan.

AIBU to think that McDonalds need to up their vegan game
Brefugee · 03/01/2020 12:33

we need to do a little bit of forward planning when we leave the house, take a thermos of coffee, some fruit or a picnic meal prepared at home, travelling for business and being unsure about the availability of food is the same it needs some forward planning and organisation

rolleyes I sometimes have to go to China for 2 weeks for business at short notice. How much of a picnic meal can i prepare for that?

The more companies that offer vegan options the better. The more people (preferably meat-eating) who buy them the better. The more they are purchased the better they will get. And that's a good thing.

I get sick and tired of arriving late at a hotel and you can't grab some quick meat-free food that isn't bloody salad. Yes. I'm vegetarian. I hate salad with a passion.

jay55 · 03/01/2020 12:33

McDonald's do spend the time creating dishes for a local market like McPinto in Costa Rica or McAloo in India or Teriyaki options in japan.

I'd have thought making the McAloo vegan (if it isn't already) and adding it to European menus would go down pretty well with vegans and omnivores.
They have creative options out there, seems a waste not to try them in different markets.

EerieSilence · 03/01/2020 12:35

@elmosducks - please tell me then what your idea of future food sourcing is and how it will look like. I really really would like to hear from vegans how they imagine the future of nutrition will be. Seriously.

WotchaTalkinBoutWillis · 03/01/2020 12:36

McAloo Shock Why don't we get that, that sounds ace!!
Now feel like falling down a google wormhole to see what else people get in McDonalds around the world, ours sounds dead boring in comparison lol

BinkyandBunty · 03/01/2020 12:39

@EerieSilence I think you're finally getting it.

Most vegans are normal people who aim to eat well but occasionally due to time constraints or a craving or whatever, are going to settle for processed crap.

Most omivores also resort to processed crap, so yes, if there's a mass transition for veganism then processed vegan crap will have to be produced on a larger scale.

Perhaps it can be produced in the unused facilities where all the non vegan processed crap was being made.

You know, if you ask me why I went vegan I'll probably say it was for health and environmental reasons even though that's not the case. It just seems like a more polite answer than 'I don't want to justify my food choices to you and get into some stupid argument' or 'Because eating the flesh of dead animals is disgusting.' I expect most vegans have also learned to trot out some platitudes that will shut you up as quickly as possible.

wishingchair1 · 03/01/2020 12:51

I could be wrong but I think the spicy veggie wrap is vegan, as is the kids veggie happy meal.

It's actually really nice.

letsghostdance · 03/01/2020 12:54

@EerieSilence Possibly alarmingly for you, I'm actually all for the future of food production being moved to labs, etc. Feeding people a vegan diet takes up much, much less land. This is an amazing thing as the population rockets. Fewer fields, more land for the wildlife.

elmosducks · 03/01/2020 13:06

@EerieSilence I can't speak for everyone, but I live in Switzerland. We compost our waste, as a community within our communes. We eat seasonally as supermarkets don't provide year long produce. I am not massively interested in 'meat substitutes', this is something omnivores seem to think I should be eating. We do grow a lot of our own veg, and whilst this isn't enough to sustain the family, it is possible. I visit a fruit and veg seconds business and buy a lot of our food from there, as supermarkets have rejected it but it is absolutely fine. I do, of course, like the occasional treat, which is usually reserved for when I am in the UK, or if my DM comes to visit. So you are talking once or twice a year.

But whatever answer I give you, I am seriously under the impression that it won't be enough. You seem intent on staying stuck in groove, you have your own narrative of what vegans or those who take a plant based diet think, feel and rules they must obey, despite several people telling you that you are incorrect and that you cannot speaks for them.

Protein in meat isn't necessary, the animals take it from their food and the huge amount of agricultural land which is required for animal feed could be used for food produce. It takes an awful lot more resources to produce animal products than it does plant based. And, if you research the food industry properly, you would understand that. I have done this, and made my choices. In an ideal world, humans would consume animal products occasionally, rather than daily. But as some people seem to think it is a badge of honour to eat such a diet, I make my choices in an attempt to balance things out, as I do care about the environment.

A lot of us are very happy with our vegetable stir fries, our curries and soups. We don't want vegan cheeses (because it's vile) or mock meats for most of our meals, but occasionally, just occasionally, it would be nice to be able to join in on a spontaneous drink/nibble. We shouldn't have to explain our choices either.

Now, would you mind answering your own question with regards to your diet? Because from where I am standing, the dairy industry is vile. If you lové eating honey, what are you doing to ensure the survival of bees?
And what about the health impacts of western diet and consuming animal products on humans?
And that the biggest source of plastic in the sea coming from the fishing industry?

And, as we are discussing the ways people choose to live, my biggest bug bear is chemicals and daily life. What do you use to clean? Wash? What do you put in your washing machine and do you use a dishwasher? Do you kill insects, spray anything in your home? One of the biggest threats to our food chains and our oceans is the chemicals that are used to ensure mass production. They are killing off those at the bottom of the food chains, how do you see things progressing? Genuinely interested in your answers here.

TheFaerieQueene · 03/01/2020 13:09

I haven’t read the whole thread, but as a vegan for many many many years, I couldn’t imagine ever going into a burger place for anything. There are so many better options for fabulous food.

UndertheCedartree · 03/01/2020 13:11

@sayoohlala - when my DS was young enough for a Happy Meal I used to ask for the 'cheesy bites' as part of the meal.

Shhhhh223 · 03/01/2020 13:17

The OP only asked if McDonald’s was letting the side down on it’s vegan offerings lol

UndertheCedartree · 03/01/2020 13:23

@MintyMabel - Mcdonalds has had a vegan burger for about 20 years.

@sqeekums - what has obligation got to do with it? Do restaurants sell meat because they are 'obligated' to? If Mcdonalds sold a chicken burger that people thought wasn't very nice, would people not be able to talk about it because Mcdonalds isn't 'obligated' to sell chicken?Confused

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