Twitter trends with #BoycottMcDonalds
By Anurag Mallick Published on 23 Aug 2019 4:36 PM GMT
NewDelhi: A twitter hashtag #BoycottMcDonalds is trending across the nation as users got into an argument regarding the meat served at McDonald’s. The jhatka-halal controversy began when a user named @hibailyas89 took to twitter to ask McDonald’s whether they are halal certified? He asked – “Is McDonald’s in India halal certified?”
Replying to this, McDonald’s said, “Thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald’s India.
We truly appreciate this opportunity to respond to your comments. The meat that we use, across our restaurants, is of the highest quality and is sourced from government-approved suppliers who are HACCP certified.”
HACCP stands for Hazard analysis and critical control points. They further said, “All our restaurants have HALAL certificates. You can ask the respective restaurant managers to show you the certificate for your satisfaction and confirmation.”
This was enough to rake up a new controversy and users across India tweeted their take on the issue.
For those who don’t know, halal and jhatka are two different ways of slaughtering animals for consumption in two different communities. halal is the Islamic way where the animal is slaughtered slowly by reciting lines from the Quran and the blood is drained. Scientists say this method is healthier.
The jhatka, it is known as the Sikh and Hindu way where the animal is slaughtered with one blow by beheading it. They believe that the animal doesn’t have to go through much pain and cruelty.
With McDonald’s agreeing that they are Halal certified, few people said that they would never have food at McD as they serve only halal meat.
More than 80 percent of the Indian population is Hindu and serving halal meat would end up with them incurring massive losses.
But there is another view of the story. Some say meat is meat; slaughter is slaughter even if it’s not halal, that the animal has to go through the pain to satisfy someone’s appetite.
There is a divide on this issue and it will be interesting to see where this goes.
