'Revolting' footage of freshly cut meat spasming after having salt put on it is turning people vegetarian

If you were considering dropping meat from your diet for good in the near future, then this video might tip you towards finally taking the plunge into vegetarianism.

As of last year, it was said that around six percent of the US population described themselves as vegetarian, with four percent said they were pescatarian or vegan, Statista reported.

Vegetarianism is thought to have gone up a percentage from 2023 to 2024, and it's unlikely that that figure will be dropping anytime soon.

Six percent of Americans say they're vegetarian (Getty Stock)

Some people opt to ditch meat products for environmental purposes, while others may do so for ethical reasons.

There's also the idea that a vegetarian diet is healthier than an eating meat, but you have to 'tread carefully', Stanford Medicine warned back in 2019.

For whatever reason you're possibly considering going veggie, this 'revolting' video may help you in your decision.

In a clip that was shared online in 2023, a freshly cut piece of meat that had salt added to it is seen convulsing.

The controversial video has been shared on several different social media platforms, sparking people to share their thoughts.

"Omg that’s revolting," one person said.

"Coulda went the rest of my life w.o seeing this [sic]," said someone else.

Others spoke of wanting to go veggie after seeing the clip.

One wrote on Instagram: "Am becoming a vegetarian."

"Well, this picture could make me give up eating meat," a different person penned elsewhere.

But why did the meat move in such a gross way?

Many people said they could have gone without seeing the video (Twitter/@weirdterrifying)

Apparently 'the sodium in the salt triggers still-functioning neurons in the meat, causing a cascade of muscular contractions', Instagram page @conceptsjpg explained.

Dr Myro Figura expanded on this in a TikTok video, saying: "The central nervous system might be gone, but the peripheral nerve endings are still there. It's the sodium that activates them and causes the muscle to spasm.

"This only happens with really fresh meat, and with no oxygen or blood supply it does not last long."

Meanwhile, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has a whole page explaining 'post-slaughter factors affecting red meat quality'.

The AHDB explains: "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)."