Just a week after a Twitter user virally claimed they had purchased 3D printed chicken from Walmart (they hadn’t), another internet user has gone viral after sharing a strange Walmart meat experience.
In mid-July, TikTok user Chet DeLeo (@chet_deleo) posted a video in which he claimed that he may have purchased “lab grown chicken” at Walmart.
@chet_deleo Wal-Mart Lab Grown Chicken #Walmart #LabGrown #Chicken #GMO #FakeFood #Boycott #Truth #WakeUp ♬ original sound – Chet DeLeo
As evidence, DeLeo showed that the raw meat could be peeled into strings with ease, comparing the experience to peeling apart Twizzlers.
“I was peeling them apart, string by string by string,” he says. “What is Walmart up to? Is this that lab-grown chicken?”
DeLeo closes the video by saying that he planned to get his money back and advised his viewers not to buy chicken from Walmart.
What DeLeo is discovering here is not lab-grown meat, but something that experts call “spaghetti meat.” While the meat is safe to eat, the phenomenon appears to have come about as a consequence of the meat industry’s efforts to make chickens grow bigger more quickly, per a 2019 article in the Wall Street Journal.
“Spaghetti meat…began appearing in 2015 and now can be detected in around 4% to 5% of breast meat samples, researchers said,” writes author Jacob Bunge. “Meat scientists said they suspect the rapid growth rate of commercially raised chickens may lead breast muscle tissue to outgrow the oxygen supply provided by chickens’ developing circulatory systems, at which point muscle fibers can degrade. That can alter the density and texture of the meat, they said.”
Regardless of the reason, DeLeo went to Walmart and attempted to get a refund.
@chet_deleo Walmart (at Glenmont, NY) DIDN’T give me my money back for DISGUSTING chicken that I bought. Check Last Video! – #Walmart #Chicken #DISGUSTING #CustomerService #WalmartPlus #LabGrown ♬ original sound – Chet DeLeo
In this video, which currently has over 235,000 views, DeLeo writes, “Walmart Won’t Give Money Back For Bioengineered Chicken That I Bought.”
According to DeLeo, he attempted to get his money back by explaining the situation and showing the receipt to customer service. However, his request was refused.
“Disgusting,” he says. “That’s the kind of support I guess you get from Walmart.”
While commenters under DeLeo’s first video seemed to support his mission, many users in the comments section of this video questioned why DeLeo would expect to get a full refund given that he did not have the chicken or package, only the receipt.
“u need to have the product with any return most places,” explained a commenter.
“I had the reciept for my 70” TV but they wouldnt give me a refund because I didnt bring the TV back,” joked another.
“You always have to bring it back,” detailed a third. “The same thing with the chicken happened to my mom but she brought the chicken back to the store.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Walmart via media relations contact form and DeLeo via Instagram direct message.
