McDonald’s Vegan Options

[SunnySideDeepDown]

McDonalds are axing the only vegan happy meal option, now only McPlant burger will be available. Due to poor sales.

AIBU to think it’s a no brainer that kids don’t want curry vegetable sticks?! My kids HATE them. Did they really think kids would eat them?

There are loads of good vegan options available now, including fantastic veggie nugget options. But instead of trying those, vegetarian and vegan children (or those who need halal or kosher meat etc), now need to order off the main menu and not have a happy meal.

Why, in a world full of vegan options, has McDonalds got this all wrong?

That's a shame. The veggie fingers are gluten free so my mum could eat them. Of course she can choose not to go there at all, but for logistical reasons she ends up there every couple of months with grandchildren.

She'll have to just have chips now and be hangry!

I find the shortage of veggie/vegan options on kids menus in general a bit of a problem - it’s not entirely uncommon to find a kids menu with nothing veggie at all.

I'm confused, the only vegan Happy Meal currently isn't anything to do with curry, it's vegetable goujons. And they're not curried. Are you in a different part of the UK perhaps with different options?

I'm dreading breaking the news to my kids, they like the dipper happy meals. We go now and then and they love a happy meal. We are a veggie family. I can't say I'm surprised though. Me and DH almost always get the McPlant, it's much better than the dipper burger/wrap. I agree the old veggie deluxe was better but again not surprised they changed it as I imagine sales also poor and the dippers more versatile. Unless my kids will eat a McPlant which they've never wanted to before then we will no longer ever go to McDs now apart from maybe extremely rare trip for an ice cream only say twice a year.

However I reckon we are very much in the minority, there's not many people who bring up their children meat free and then loads of them will never go to McDs etc. I mean we don't go often either so even those infrequent visitors, it's probably just not economically viable.

The point around Kosher and Halal, I don't know about kosher but I'm from a Muslim background and we always ate the fish fingers happy meals and then the filet of fish as teens/adults (before I became veggie). I imagine vast majority of Muslim visitors choose the fish options, certainly all the ones I know always do.

I agree. When my daughter who is coeliac has a happy meal we have to order a hamburger cooked fresh with no bun (they initially said, can't you just take it out of the bun, which misses the point of cross contamination) fries and a drink and we take a gf bun with us. Of course mcdonalds is grim, but when she goes out with her mates she wants to have same as them.

In France, Spain, Italy they provide gf buns, so not sure why they don't do that here.

Childrens menus in general are much nice restrictive. My coeliac DH almost always finds something he can have, but my coeliac daughter is much more difficult as most children's options seem to include bread or breadcrumbs. So we often have to get her an adult meal at 3 times the price. Super frustrating that we have to pay extra every time we go out, for a medical need.

Never understood why they didn’t do a mini Mcplant for kids to be honest. My DS is a pescatarian by choice so happy with the fish fingers but if they ever don’t have those in for some reason, he will not have veg sticks (hates them) so has to have a burger without the meat.

Anyway, we don’t really bother with McDonald’s anymore because they always make you park up and leave you waiting 20 mins in the car park where I live, then usually bring the wrong order out.

Mine too! McPlant is horrible. Who actually likes fake meat?

Agree. And the worst thing is, when they ditch the vegan option because there arent enough people buying them, they dont bring back vegetarian options even though there are 10x the number of veggies than there are vegans, they just get rid of everything decent. As said above, id like a vegetarian meal made with actual vegetables, lentils etc and proper cheese, Mayo, butter etc not UPF crap or some cashew nuts squeezed together and passed off as cheese.

I am not veggie or vegan, I am a farmer. I don't go to McDonalds because the animal welfare standards are so poor. I can't understand why you go there. There are so many other options with high welfare standards. I appreciate you don't eat meat so would have a veggie item but if you choose not to eat animals, I can't understand eating somewhere that profits off treating them as poorly as is legally allowed.

I've found that in lots of places. They just lump vegan and veggie together and think it suits all.

In reality, I'm vegetarian but I can't stand vegan cheese etc., which cuts down the menu choices even further for me.

Lots of people do...
Beyond Meat have $300m+ turnover a year

https://investors.beyondmeat.com/news-releases/news-release-details/beyond-meatr-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2024-financial/

And that's just ONE company making fake meat

I love the McPlant. Absolutely gorgeous. I often just take the patty out and eat it on its own with the cheese. Nicest burger I think I've ever had.

Well, name a child who eats curry flavoured breaded vegetable sticks.

I don’t think you have the moral high ground here. Yes, once I month I contribute £40 to an unethical organisation.

How much meat do you slaughter or eat? You may think you do it ethically, but raising animals to kill them, with profit as a priority, is hardly something you can win a peace prize for. And certainly isn’t something you can use to shame a long term vegetarian who has eat significantly less animal product than you.

I’m just stunned at the statement that a meal there is considered ‘a treat’

When my kids were little there was no vegetarian happy meal. They got 2 lots of chips instead 🙄 so I’m sure today’s kids will manage until they bring something new out.

Me too. When out and about, my kids eat a lot of chips, sadly.

A toasted cheese sandwich would be a great option.

@WhamBamThankU of course they’ll manage. Everyone would manage if McDonalds closed their doors. But why should vegetarian kids have no happy meal options just because yours did? There are a lot more vegetarian households now than there were a few decades ago, but even so, it’s not a race to the bottom.

@EllenWest oh, if only we were as sophisticated and cultured as you 🤪

A few decades ago? My youngest is 12 and vegetarian happy meals weren’t a thing when he was little. Burger King is much better for veggies. Just go there instead

Just watch the sauce on the big mac if your intolerant to mustard its not suitable (i am intolerant to mustard i eat a bunless big mac rarely....or if im constipated tbh it will resolve the issue 😬)

I thought they were announcing different items not just removing options?

I still miss the chicken salad that was gluten free (it wasn't cooked instore) then they decided it should be "coated" and boom bye bye gluten free option

Well I’m not really cultured, but obvs you were being sarcastic, what about a lovely vegetarian take away or delivery pizza as a treat (not sure if you’re vegan - sorry) or maybe buy some nice buns and salad and some oven chips and the meat style vegan burgers to cook at home, it’s pretty quick and easy and actually so much nicer.

Wouldn't they fry it all in the same oil anyway? I thought that's why it was debatable how vegan the options really are (I don't eat meat either)