Social media sensation highlights meat-heavy eating trends

It’s not your typical dinner scene. Across social media platforms, ravenous meat enthusiasts, primarily men, are flaunting their carnivorous habits, chomping down on rib-eye steaks, bacon, and offal.

In a recent viral TikTok video, @carnivoreray, a popular influencer, shared his unique snack recipe involving bacon and grass-fed butter. With a growing following of over 170,000, he showcased his bacon-butter concoction, claiming it tasted like candy.

This trend is part of a broader movement advocating for the carnivore diet, an extreme version of high-fat, low-carb regimens like Atkins and keto. Advocates swear by a diet limited to meat, seafood, and eggs, with some indulging in dairy and minimal fruit.

Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are flooded with videos of these “meatfluencers” indulging in all manners of animal products, proudly declaring their avoidance of vegetables for months on end. Some even skip plates altogether, opting to eat directly from cutting boards.

While proponents tout health benefits like weight loss and mental clarity, experts remain sceptical. Whitney Linsenmeyer, an assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics, notes that the carnivore diet contradicts established nutrition science, especially with its heavy reliance on saturated fats from meat and butter.

Despite medical reservations, the diet’s popularity continues to soar, fueled in part by endorsements from podcasters like Joe Rogan and Lex Fridman, figures influential in what’s dubbed the “manosphere.”

Shawn Baker, an orthopaedic surgeon and key figure in the carnivore movement, credits his own health transformation to the diet. After appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast, interest in carnivore eating surged, with Rogan himself praising the diet’s effects on his well-being.

But the carnivore craze isn’t without controversy. Critics argue that such an animal-centric diet not only defies nutritional norms but also raises environmental concerns, given the emissions associated with meat and dairy production.

Yet, for many, carnivory represents more than just a diet; it’s a lifestyle and a statement. The appeal lies in its simplicity and primal satisfaction, as well as its defiance of conventional dietary wisdom.

As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: in a world inundated with processed foods and dietary dilemmas, the carnivores have found their niche, one juicy steak at a time