From the “cinnamon challenge” to the “chubby bunny challenge,” the Internet has seen many viral trends that spread like wildfire thanks to a combination of boredom, curiosity, and a desire for online fame. Some were even conceived for a great cause, such as the “ice bucket challenge,” born as an initiative to encourage donations for ALS research.
Still, not everything seen online should be reproduced. A Florida man named John has recently inspired jaw-dropping reactions online after announcing that he would embark on a challenge to eat raw chicken every day until he “gets a tummy ache.”
John is a seasoned veteran in the field of consuming raw food—and receiving online criticism for his questionable diet. As an ex-vegan, he recorded himself tasting uncooked meat two years ago on a series of YouTube videos titled “Eating raw meat at Whole Foods every day till I die from bacteria.”
A Florida man has embarked on a mission to eat raw chicken every single day until he “gets a tummy ache”
Image credits: rawchickenexperiment
He eventually got bored after 200 days, but now he has decided to give uncooked meat another chance.
“I got really into researching weird diets from around the world. I got into many YouTube rabbit holes about how eating meat is actually really healthy and became obsessed,” he explained during an interview with Vice.
Back then, the adventurous content creator would devour different raw meats, including beef, kangaroo, and veal brain.
“This year, I was sitting at my girlfriend’s house looking through those videos and found a chicken one I did. I reposted that video, and it went on the ‘Explore’ page – that’s when things started going crazy.”
The man, named John, wants to prove his point that eating raw chicken doesn’t pose health risks and piss some Internet users off along the way
“It was all hate and anger, and people were messaging me saying I was going to die. I thought there was something there as an idea, so I set up my separate ‘Raw Chicken Experiment’ page.”
He admitted that among his motivations for starting the experiment was that he “figured it would be fun to go full-blown with this as an idea and piss everyone off.”
With his videos, John intends to prove the point, widely questioned by the scientific community, that eating raw chicken doesn’t pose any health risks to people.
“I think it would be close to impossible to get someone to agree this is a good idea,” he acknowledged.
John claims that whether a slab of raw chicken is fit for consumption depends on the treatment the animal received at the factory farm where it was raised.
He explained: “In Japan, they’ll have raw chicken on menus. I don’t think it’s the raw chicken itself that will kill you; it’s more what they’re doing to the animals in the factory farms.”
“I think it would be close to impossible to get someone to agree this is a good idea,” he admitted
“I’m getting the chickens from a farm half an hour away; they don’t use antibiotics, chlorine, or injections. They live out in the sun eating a natural diet.”
Every day, John shares with his 400,000 Instagram followers a new video of himself sitting at an outdoor table, dipping slabs of chicken breast in ranch dressing (sometimes drinking the chicken blood), and swallowing his uncooked meal.
His “raw meat experiment” videos are going viral, with some reaching up to eight million views.
On his Instagram bio, he refers to himself as a “future Nobel Prize winner” and invites people to follow him “to see what happens.”
John, who said he “tries” to add a disclaimer about the risks of copying his behavior, also accompanies his food with raw eggs, which he sometimes chugs from Martini glasses.
For Valentine’s Day, the Florida resident decorated his table with a chocolate box, roses, and other romantic elements, and he announced that he would be “devouring the hearts of these lovely little birds and absorbing their love.”
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website states that raw chicken can be contaminated with Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Clostridium perfringens germs
In case you were wondering about the raw meat’s flavor, John said that raw chicken’s taste “is barely there” and is similar to “scallop or shrimp.”
Bloody diarrhea, fever, vomiting, stomach cramps, numbness, parasites, and septicemia are a few of the reasons why eating raw chicken is strongly advised against.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website states that raw chicken can be contaminated with Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Clostridium perfringens germs.
“If you eat undercooked chicken, you can get a foodborne illness, also called food poisoning. You can also get sick if you eat other foods or beverages that are contaminated by raw chicken or its juices,” the governmental site further informs.
According to its estimates, every year, about 1 million people get sick from eating contaminated poultry in the US.
Naturally, John’s loved ones are aware of the potential risks of his controversial experiment. But after “a lot of explaining,” the social media star said, they stopped being surprised by his hazardous personal research project. His in-laws have even poked fun at him for it.
Image credits: rawchickenexperiment
“They’ve seen me do weird stuff before. My girlfriend’s parents will joke around saying, ‘You can come round for dinner, but it will be cooked.’”
In contrast, his colleagues seem to be more concerned about his health. “I had text messages from all of my co-workers asking, ‘Is everything okay?’ People do get quite angry and call me stupid, but they haven’t researched in the same way I have.”
John is currently on day 31 of his raw chicken experiment. His forecast? “A 75 percent chance that I’ll be fine for 100 days.”
“I think: What’s the worst thing that’s gonna happen? I’ll sh*t myself for a week or something, but I’ve probably done worse things than that before in my life.”
“If something happens to me, it’s my fault, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine.”
People agreed that John’s “raw chicken experiment” wasn’t a bright idea
