To solve for dietary preference of 100% vegetarians, Zomato introduces a ‘pure veg’ fleet

Zomato launches "pure veg" delivery fleet, sparking controversy over potential discrimination against delivery partners.

Food delivery platform Zomato on March 19 launched a “pure veg” delivery fleet that would deliver orders from restaurants that do not serve meat, fish or egg-based dishes. The fleet’s personnel are shown in promotional images wearing green uniforms and with green boxes on their bikes, and the company will not assign “pure veg” delivery partners to any orders from restaurants where food is not exclusively vegetarian.

While some vegetarian users welcomed the announcement on social media whole-heartedly, it immediately sparked backlash from app-based workers’ unions, activists, and academics, who have argued that the move will invariably translate into harassment of and violence against ground-level delivery partners, most of whom are from minority religious backgrounds or from oppressed caste backgrounds.

Sheikh Salauddin, President of Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), the largest platform-based drivers’ union in India, said: “The last time someone on Zomato requested for a delivery partner of a particular religion, [Zomato CEO Deepinder] Goyal said ‘food has no religion’. Today, he seems to have gone back on this. I ask him directly, is he now going to categorise delivery partners on the lines of caste, community and religion?” 

Karti P. Chidambaram, Congress MP from Sivaganga, too weighed in, calling the company “socially regressive and discriminatory”.

On announcing the decision, Mr. Goyal said that the “pure veg” fleet “doesn’t serve or alienate any religious, or political preference”, further saying that the move was planned and rolled out in response to user feedback. “If this is the case, there have been so many cases of users requesting delivery partners of a particular caste and religion, will this be agreed to as well?” asked Mr. Salauddin, adding, “There have already been multiple instances of customers requesting delivery partners of a particular religion or community.”

Mr. Chidambaram too echoed the same fears, speculating a “hidden agenda” to be behind the move. 

A Zomato spokesperson did not have an immediate response to queries from The Hindu on how exactly delivery partners will be selected for this particular fleet.