‘My dog, he wouldn’t eat it’: Shopper says you should look for this key word on your chicken

TikToker Tammy Nowell (@tammynowell68) has a bone to pick with the poultry industry. She's claiming that they're slipping lab-grown meat onto supermarket shelves.

Nowell raised her concerns in a video posted to her account on Oct. 14, warning her viewers to check for the word "hatched" on all their poultry purchases.

Since October, the video has picked up 327,500 views and counting.

Was her chicken lab-grown meat?

In the video, Nowell describes a boneless turkey breast she had recently purchased.

"This thing looked like … it was created in a lab of Frankenstein or something," she states.

Nowel said the experience led her to start "some research," which she claims led her to "lab-created meat."

"Let's take a look at this," she says, pointing to a package of chicken with the brand name blacked out. "This says vegetarian-fed, no animal byproducts, raised cage-free, no hormones or steroids."

"There's a huge possibility that this was lab-created," she claims.

She claims that she threw the chicken away after she cooked it "because I don't think that was real meat. My dog, he wouldn't eat it."

Nowell states that customers concerned about lab-grown meat should look for the word "hatched" on the packaging.

"If it doesn't say hatched, there's no telling where that meat's coming from or how it got here," she claims.

What is lab-grown meat?

Lab-grown meat is a real thing.

According to the European Food Information Council, lab-grown meat, also known as cultivated meat, is "meat developed from animal cell culture, and not via traditional raising and slaughter of living animals."

The product is created by utilizing the stem cells of living animals. The cultures are used to build "an edible material that supports the organization of meat cells into the desired shape, for example, a steak."

The process was invented in 2012. However, despite being theoretically more sustainable, lab-grown meats remain pricey.

According to GCFGlobal, "The first lab-made hamburger was created in 2012, and it cost about $325,000 to produce."

It estimates a lab-grown 5-ounce burger would cost slightly more than $11.

Can you buy it in a store?

Even though lab-grown meat is real, it's unlikely that Nowell's chicken was grown in a lab. Lab-grown chicken has not been approved for sale in the United States.

According to The Associated Press, "Lab-grown meat is not currently available in any U.S. grocery stores or restaurants."

In fact, "both Florida and Alabama banned the sale of cultivated meat and seafood" in early 2024. Other states are considering similar bans.  

Confusing food labels

Nowell's meat may not be made in a lab, but the way it was raised and harvested may have resulted in its unappetizing nature.

Although it was labeled as "vegetarian-fed, no animal byproducts, raised cage-free, no hormones or steroids," this doesn't guarantee top quality.

Writing for CNET, food reporter David Watsky notes that many of those labels "are simply marketing terms that don't mean a thing."

For instance, the "no hormones or steroids" label, "means very little since FDA law prohibits any use of added steroids or hormones. " 

Watsky states that "cage-free" is "nonsensical" since "no broiler chickens can be raised in cages and must be kept in large houses instead."

He writes that the label he most trusts is "Animal Welfare Approved Chicken." This label indicates the processor is "audited yearly to ensure the birds have adequate indoor and outdoor space, breed health requirements, natural light, and a maximum transport time of four hours."  

@tammynowell68 #greenscreen Check your chicken. There is no telling what they are selling us to eat! #labgrownmeat #fakechicken #whattheheckisthis?? ♬ original sound - Tammy Nowell

Viewers weigh in

Overall, viewers agreed with Nowell that the quality of chicken has gone down.

StaceyW (@staceywilliams80) wrote, "I only buy my meat from a farm now. Chickens aren’t supposed to be vegetarian-fed to be healthy. They eat bugs and worms.. etc not veggies."

Another viewer wrote, "I've started returning EVERYTHING that appears 'off' & if made with bioengineered ingredients."

"I buy chicken from a organic place in Oregon and the meat is so different than what we buy in the grocery store. Don’t buy meat in the grocery store anymore," another recommended.

However, at least one viewer noted, "Lab-created meat is not available in stores. 2 companies in CA are allowed to produce it but it’s only in restaurants. You’d be paying triple.."

The Daily Dot reached out to Nowell via email and TikTok direct message for further comment.

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