Why is ‘Boycott Starbucks’ trending? Hindu outfit protests over 'halal' meat

Hindu Janajagruti Samiti claimed Starbucks is imposing halal meat on non-Muslims in India as it only offers halal meat.

'Boycott Starbucks' trended on X, formerly called Twitter, after Mumbai-based Hindu Janajagruti Samiti called a pan-India boycott of Starbucks claiming that the Starbucks chain in India only serves halal meat calling it a 'halal imposition' on Hindus and non-Muslims. "Do Hindus have no freedom to eat?" Hindu Janajagruti Samiti spokesperson Ramesh Shinde tweeted calling for the boycott. The hashtag trended on Sunday. Starbucks has not yet issued any statement reacting to the social media boycott call.

Mumbai-based Hindu Janajagruti Samiti shared a video claiming that Starbucks only serves halal meat in India.

Halal means permissible and halal-certified means the food adheres to Islamic law. Halal meat refers to the meat of an animal which has been slaughtered through the throat, oesophagus, and jugular veins but not the spinal cord.

In a video, the Hindu organisation claimed that Starbucks serves 400,000 consumers in India every week, and crossed the ₹1,000-crore mark in net sales last fiscal year. "A huge chunk of this revenue is used for obtaining halal certification. Why should Hindus be forced to eat Halal-certified food," the video showed. In the video, a woman enquired at a Starbucks outlet in New Delhi whether non-halal meat is available. A staff, as captured in the video, said only halal meat is available and halal meat is something that both Hindus and Muslims can eat.

Recently, a video of a train passenger questioning a staff about the halal certification on a tea premix sachet went viral. The staff explained that the tea is any way vegetarian. The railways and the tea premix company issued statements that the tea is purely vegetarian and adheres to international standards.