People are taking to social media in shock over a ‘weird and terrifying’ video that shows what happens to muscle in meat shortly after the animal has been slaughtered.
If you’ve been considering a switch to a vegetarian or vegan diet but needed an extra nudge, this might be just the thing.
A video posted on Twitter by the account Weird and Terrifying showcases what occurs when salt is added to freshly cut muscle.
The footage reveals someone holding up a piece of meat to the camera, and the meat reacts by twitching in a manner reminiscent of Ron’s face after he mistakenly cursed himself with the slug-vomiting charm in Harry Potter.
The meat bubbles and twitches, appearing almost as if the animal were still alive, sparking a range of reactions online.
One Twitter user commented: “Well, this picture could make me give up eating meat.”
Another user wrote, “Glad I gave up meat 21 years ago.”
A third person simply stated, “That is weird and terrifying.”
A fourth added, “I could’ve gone my whole life without seeing this s**t but naaaahh ofc Twitter.”
And a fifth concluded, “I’ve just ordered a salad.”
But what causes the meat to move in such an unsettling way?
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) provides a detailed explanation on ‘post-slaughter factors affecting red meat quality’.
The AHDB notes, “Following slaughter, the supply of blood to the muscles ceases, and any remaining energy is used up. This is commonly seen as muscles twitching/tensing. Once this energy is depleted, muscle proteins begin to bind during a process referred to as rigor mortis.”
“The pH of living tissue is around 7. When the animal dies, the energy within the muscle is used up and causes the pH to fall to around 5.4–5.7 (the ultimate pH).”
Additionally, this phenomenon can impact the flavor of the meat.
The AHDB also explains that if the animal experiences stress before being slaughtered, “they use up energy through an adrenaline response.”
“This means that once slaughtered, there is not as much energy available and the pH does not fall as much, typically remaining higher than 5.7,” it continues. “This also has an impact on the meat quality, causing a term referred to as DFD (dark, firm, dry) or DCB (dark cutting beef).”
Well, you learn something new every day, whether you want to or not. Apologies to the meat lovers out there.