Do You Remember the Chicken Head in the KFC Meal?

If you found a chicken head in your food would it remind you that you're eating animals?

In December 2021, a woman in the UK, Gabrielle, ordered a hot wing meal from KFC for delivery. When her food arrived, she realised that one of the pieces was not a chicken wing, but a breadcrumb‑coated chicken head—complete with its beak and eyes. Shocked and disgusted, she posted a two‑star review on 3 December with a photo of the fried head. She wrote, “I found a fried chicken head in my hot wing meal, put me off the rest, ugh.”

If eating the wings is ok, why isn't it ok to eat the head

A Social Media Storm

The image of the fried chicken head went viral. Social media users reacted with horror and revulsion, with comments asking for “trigger warnings” before the photo and discussions about the ethics of meat consumption. One person pointed out, “If you eat meat there’s nothing to complain about, you’re just faced with the reality of what you’re eating for once.” A lot of people said that the picture of the head hit a nerve precisely because it reminded them of the living animal behind the meal.

KFC’s Response

KFC UK responded publicly to the viral post, calling the photo “shocking” and “baffling” and joking that Gabrielle had given “probably the most generous two‑star review ever.” The company explained that although they have strict quality checks with suppliers and in restaurants, even “the best laid plans can—on rare occasions—go awry.” They invited Gabrielle back for complimentary meals and a behind‑the‑scenes tour of their kitchen to restore her confidence in their processes and not lose anymore customers.

Cognitive Dissonance

This story is a perfect example of the cognitive dissonance that people "suffer" from when they claim to love animals, but still eat meat. To do this they have to hold two mutually conflicting beliefs - “I care about animal welfare” and “I consume animal flesh” in their minds to allow themselves to carry on eating meat. Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance says that this kind of inconsistency creates psychological discomfort. To avoid this people make distinctions between the live animal and the flesh on their plate. The chicken head in the hot wings meal blew apart those protective defences. It forced people to reconcile what they were looking at with their professed compassion for animals. The disgust that they felt was the cognitive dissonance breaking through.

Since this episode, nothing has changed. For a while it was a horror story, then it became a joke, then it was forgotten, but animals are still being abused, tortured and killed. We don't have to do this, we don't have to eat any animal, if you want the experience, eat a chicken substitute. We shouldn't be getting to the point where a chicken's head in someone's meal is needed to remind them that what they are eating used to be an animal.

Please go vegan

#Vegan #ChickenHeadKFC #VeganChicken