Campbell’s fired the VP recorded saying its meat ‘came from a 3D printer’

Campbell’s says it fired its vice president of information technology after leaked audio allegedly captured him saying the company uses meat that “came from a 3D printer.” The comments led Campbell’s to issue an explanation on its website, insisting its soups aren’t made with 3D-printed chicken, lab-grown chicken, or bioengineered meat.

“A recent video contained false comments about our ingredients,” Campbell’s writes. “The comments heard on the recording about our food are not only inaccurate, they are absurd. We do not use lab-grown chicken or any form of artificial or bioengineered meat in our soups.” It adds that the company only uses chicken from “reputable” suppliers in the US that meet USDA standards.

The audio was released as part of a lawsuit filed against Campbell’s by a former employee, who claims to have recorded a conversation with IT VP Martin Bally. During the conversation, the person purported to be Bally makes racist remarks, while calling Campbell’s food “bioengineered” and for “poor people.”

“Even in a can of soup, I look at it — and look at bioengineered meat,” the person in the recording says. “I don’t want to eat a fucking piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer, do you?” Campbell’s later updated its statement to say that it believes “the voice on the recording is in fact Martin Bally,” adding that he is “no longer employed” by the company as of November 25th.

3D-printed chicken isn’t entirely something out of a sci-fi movie. KFC, which has had to deal with its own chicken-related conspiracies, said it was working with a Russian firm in 2020 to develop a way to “print” lab-grown chicken nuggets using chicken cells and plant material.

Update, November 26th: Added that Bally is no longer employed by Campbell’s.