Fact Check: Did Chick-fil-A Censor All Comments After Announcing Controversial News?
Chick-fil-A has announced a controversial new plant-based sandwich that it will be testing at select restaurants starting Monday.
The Chick-fil-A Cauliflower Sandwich was announced in a Feb. 9 news release that instantly drew largely negative remarks.
After attempting to comment on Chick-fil-A’s announcement post on Twitter, many noticed it was not possible to comment and some accused Chick-fil-A of turning off replies in anticipation of bad reviews.
Replies locked. They know they’re gonna get destroyed. https://t.co/bVJzQzBCeg
— Tommy Face on Fire (@TommyFaceOnFire) February 9, 2023
They turned off the replies. 🤣😂😂 https://t.co/VTWTMtKWtO
— 🔴Daniel⚪️ (@dGod23) February 10, 2023
However, the news was not announced on Chick-fil-A’s main social account (which allows comments) and was instead posted on an affiliate “Chick-fil-A News” account.
On this account, it appears no users are allowed to comment on a post unless they were mentioned in it.
This also does not appear to be a new account setting, since most previous posts on the account have few to no comments on them as well.
Still, many have remarked their distaste for a plant-based sandwich, which is Chick-fil-A’s first entrée of this kind.
I definitely can’t wait to not buy this… https://t.co/hYYxAFRia5
— Eight Buck Chuck (@real8BuckChuck) February 10, 2023
Cauliflower Sandwich 😬🤨😵💫🥴 https://t.co/ojqptBl2c3 pic.twitter.com/0Cy17wWlVj
— Philip Holloway ✈️ (@PhilHollowayEsq) February 9, 2023
The sandwich will be tested at only a few locations initially, according to the news release: Denver, Charleston, S.C. and North Carolina’s Greensboro-Triad region.
Overall, the sandwich is cooked almost exactly the same as Chick-fil-A’s chicken sandwich would be – it’s marinated, breaded, seasoned, pressure-cooked, and served on a toasted bun with two pickle slices.
One of the only differences between the two sandwiches is the meat, or in this case, the lack thereof.
According to Chick-fil-A, “The sandwich is made with a tender filet cut from a whole, real cauliflower and embraces the plant-forward style that places vegetables at the center of the entrée.”
The company said it chose cauliflower because it had the best taste of the vegetable alternatives that were considered for the offering.
“We explored every corner of the plant-based space in search of the perfect centerpiece for our plant-forward entrée,” Stuart Tracy, the culinary developer of the cauliflower sandwich, said in the news release. “Time and time again, we kept returning to cauliflower as the base of our sandwich.”
The company noted that, unfortunately for vegans, the sandwich is still made with milk and eggs, and it declined to classify the sandwich as vegetarian due to a lack of “vegetarian-only preparation surfaces.”
As CNN reported, Chick-fil-A isn’t the first fast-food chain to try implementing a plant-based option.
Other companies that have tested plant-based meat-flavored alternatives include Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Burger King, among others.
Burger King is the only one that’s made its plant-based “Impossible Whopper” a permanent part of the menu.
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