Health and wellness author/activist Kathy Freston has launched a petition on Change.org that calls for a vegetarian burger to be offered at McDonald’s.
Freston has said that McDonald’s should follow in the footsteps of other well-known chains such as Subway, Burger King, and Chipotle that have all thus far added a vegetarian option to their menu. The petition has so far received over 85,000 signatures.
According to Wsj.com, Freston is being backed by some big names such as Ellen DeGeneres and Russell Simmons, and food writer Mark Bittman.
"The market has changed," Freston told Yahoo.com. "People are more interested in more plant-based options [that are] zero cholesterol, zero trans-fat, and cruelty free."
Freston has appeared on numerous talk shows, including “The Dr. Oz Show” to talk about her passion for vegetarianism. She believes that a vegetarian option on the McDonald’s menu will create new customers and keep old customers from straying somewhere else where it is already offered.
She writes on the petition, “Adding plant-based protein options at McDonald’s will appeal to workers out for a quick lunch, families with health-conscious members out to dinner, children on field trips, and anyone looking for something different than the current menu at McDonald’s where even the french fries contain beef flavoring.”
Will McDonald’s fill this void for all vegetarians out there? We’ll just have to wait and find out.
Image courtesy of Twitter