A Florida man is going viral on social media after he started a challenge of eating raw chicken every day as a way to see what would happen to him.
The user, who goes by John, has amassed more than 400,000 Instagram followers and has vowed to consume raw chicken and raw eggs every day until he “gets a tummy ache.”
While John has yet to share any medical problems he’s had from the challenge, eating raw chicken is strongly advised against as it can cause bloody diarrhea, fever, vomiting, stomach cramps, parasites, and more.
John spoke with VICE about his challenge, telling the media outlet earlier this month that his new diet came from studying “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 told VICE. “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.”
When it comes to the chicken that John is consuming, he says he gets it from a farm that forgoes using any chlorine, injections, or antibiotics on the animals.
“They live out in the sun eating a natural diet, which is as normal as a chicken can be. It’s not like I’m testing Walmart chicken. I guess I’m gambling on farm chicken being safer,” he said.
For those wondering if they should try the challenge, John said they shouldn’t, noting that if anything happens to him, it’s his fault.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says raw chicken may be contaminated with Campylobacter, Salmonella, or Clostridium perfringens germs. Consuming these germs could be deadly, the CDC warns.
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“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 CDC says.