To McDonald’s Australia,

We are asking McDonald’s Australia to bring a permanent vegetarian burger — such as the McVeggie® — and a line of plant-based nuggets, like the Veggie McPlant Nuggets available overseas, to Australian stores.

For many Australians, McDonald’s is a familiar, convenient and much-loved part of everyday life. But for customers who do not eat meat, the choices are extremely limited. Too often, the only realistic option is the Filet-O-Fish — and many of us are tired of having that as the default.

This issue is close to my heart as someone who only eats kosher meat. Since the devastating attack in Bondi against the Jewish community, many Australian Jews have felt a renewed connection to their faith and are keeping a higher level of kosher. For people who keep kosher-style, vegetarian options at mainstream restaurants can make a real difference. It allows us to participate more easily in everyday Australian life with friends, family, colleagues and community.

This petition is not only for Jewish Australians. It is also for vegetarians, people trying to reduce their meat intake, visitors from overseas, and our Muslim friends who keep halal and may also benefit from more meat-free options.

Many of us have seen the delicious vegetarian range offered by McDonald’s in Europe, including crispy plant-based nuggets and vegetarian burgers. McDonald’s France launched Veggie McPlant Nuggets in 2024, showing that this kind of product can exist within the McDonald’s system overseas. McDonald’s Australia has offered a McVeggie before, but it was removed from the menu in 2021 after lower demand. The problem was not the idea of a vegetarian option — many customers felt the old version simply was not exciting enough. It was a dry, grain-style patty, not the crispy and satisfying burger or nuggets many of us have enjoyed overseas.

Australia deserves better vegetarian fast-food options. A permanent McVeggie® and Veggie McPlant Nuggets would:

Make McDonald’s more inclusive for Jewish, Muslim, vegetarian and flexitarian customers.

Give Australians more choice beyond fish, chicken and beef.

Support people who want to eat less meat for health, ethical or environmental reasons.

Bring Australia in line with McDonald’s markets overseas that already offer more exciting vegetarian options.

Show that McDonald’s Australia listens to customers who want modern, inclusive and flexible menu choices.

We are not asking McDonald’s to remove meat from the menu. We are simply asking for more choice.

Australians love Macca’s. We want to be able to walk into our local store with friends and family and have something genuinely delicious to order too.

Please bring a permanent McVeggie® and Veggie McPlant Nuggets to McDonald’s Australia.

And if McDonald’s needs product testers — I volunteer!