A Texas mother was completely sh0cked when the poultry she was preparing for dinner began to separate into stringy pieces resembling spaghetti.
Explaining that pasta was not on the menu that night, the mother shared a social media post showing the raw chicken she was washing, which fell apart in her hands.
On March 21, Alesia Cooper from Irving, Texas, shared a disturbing photo of a chicken breast that seemed to protest its future position on a dinner plate. “I think it’s that fake meat,” she wrote in her now-viral Facebook post, which has sparked a discussion online, with some users considering going vegan. Keep reading to learn more about the stringy chicken!
The mother of two explained, “I’ve been debating on posting this but since I had to see it, so do y’all.” The post, which includes an image of chicken shredding into spaghetti-like strands, continues: “I was cooking my kids dinner a couple of weeks ago and was cleaning my meat like I normally do, and when I went back to start cooking, it turned into this (SIC).” Cooper, who mentioned purchasing the chicken breast from the budget supermarket Aldi, added: “lol I think it’s that fake meat but I’m not sure. Anyways…I ain’t made chicken off the bone since.”
Online users quickly flooded the comments section, offering their theories about what had caused the strange chicken. Some speculated the chicken was 3D printed or grown in a petri dish.
One commenter argued: “That’s lab-grown chicken, it’s a new way they make chicken because of the bird flu and resource shortages in recent years. Last year, they announced that they found a way to make chicken in a lab and that’s what’s in stores now.”
“GMO lab meat,” another user wrote. A third simply decided: “Fake, I don’t buy it anymore.”
However, one user offered a more plausible explanation for the shredded chicken: “It’s not lab-grown meat or 3D printed. It comes from real chickens. The problem is that greedy chicken producers force-feed their chickens growth hormones so they grow too fast.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, the condition known as “spaghetti meat” is likely the result of breeding chickens to have larger breasts that grow faster—allowing producers to maximize meat yield and profit.
Dr. Massimiliano Petracci, a professor of agriculture and food science at the University of Bologna in Italy, told the WSJ that these abnormalities are linked to the rapid growth of modern chickens.Some users were even inspired to change their diets: “I’ll go vegan!! Too much lab food around,” one wrote, while another added: “This is why we’re thinking about going pescatarian.”
Along with another condition called “woody breast,” “spaghetti meat” can sometimes result from this breeding. While both might sound unsettling, experts assure that eating these abnormalities won’t harm you.
Meanwhile, online users have expressed their disgust over the noodled chicken.
One commenter asked: “It looks like worms! What are they feeding us?”
“I got some like that a while ago. It looked like that on the bottom. Things haven’t looked right like when we were young. A lot fresher,” shared another.
Others suggested shopping elsewhere: “You’ll get humanely raised and better quality chicken from a local butcher or co-op. I recommend going there instead for your meat.”