History Main / MutagenicFood

->''"You are what you eat" said a wise old man,''\\
''Lord, if that's true I'm a garbage can.''

* ''ComicBook/InvaderZimOni'': In one issue, Dib's investigation of mutant animals leads him to a stock of discarded, radioactive ice cream.

* ''Film/TheStuff'' has the titular Stuff. It's incredibly addictive, and as a person eats more of it they're driven to seek out and consume increasing amounts. Eventually, the consumer melts down from the inside out into more Stuff.

* In "Royal Jelly", a short story by Creator/RoaldDahl, the eponymous substance [[spoiler:slowly transforms a baby into a ''Queen bee'' larva. Did wonders for her dad, too]].
* ''Literature/NightShift'': In "Grey Matter", [[spoiler:a can of contaminated beer turns a man into a BlobMonster]].
* This happens in a roundabout way in ''Literature/DrFranklinsIsland''. Semi, at that point a small manta ray-like creature, is presented with the chance to become human again. To that end, powder is poured into her pool, and she notes that consuming it is just like consuming plankton -- like breathing, basically. She and Miranda speculate that the powder is [[LegoGenetics dried-up human DNA]].

* Creator/BillCosby named a book ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Am-What-Ate-Im-Frightened/dp/0060545739/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319749363&sr=8-1 I Am What I Ate... and I'm Frightened!!!]]''

* ''VideoGame/AncientDomainsOfMystery'' has monster corpses provide special abilities (e.g. fire beetle for fire resistance.)
* The titular creatures from ''VideoGame/{{Bugsnax}}'' combine this with AnthropomorphicFood, as they're described as "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin half bug, half snak]]", and anyone who eats them has a random body part resemble a part of the Bugsnak they ate. The effects are temporary [[spoiler:unless you eat too many. At that point, your body [[BodyHorror breaks apart]] and is absorbed into [[ThatsNoMoon the massive snak gestalt that's overtaken their island]], where the pieces transform into more Bugsnax.]]

* The HGame ''Corruption of Champions'' has this as a major game mechanic. Various items and potions can bestow transformations on you, slowly turning you into animal or monstrous forms representative of their origin. "Canine Peppers", for example, subtly alter your physiology into a more... canine form, while "Whisker Fruit" makes you more catlike. Items of opposed species will soon cancel out each other's transformations- and overdosing on certain transformation items will [[ForcedTransformation turn you permanently]] into that animal, resulting in a bad ending for you.
* ''VideoGame/SaGaRPG'' has edible monster meat. In some games, it can turn any character into a monster (opposed by cybernetics/robotic upgrades), and in all titles it allows monsters to grow more powerful and/or become a different type of monster.
* This is the key feature of ''VideoGame/{{Wobbledogs}}''; the mutation of dogs is affected by the food they have eaten. You can unlock more types of food by completing various goals.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', a boy transforms into a giant glue monster after accidentally eating a radioactive bug that fell into his tub of glue.

** In the pilot "The Chicken From Outer Space", eating alien eggs causes Eustace to [[TransformationHorror transform into a monstrous chicken man]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeamGalaxy'' episode "Strange Fruit", the protagonists land by mistake on an unknown alien planet, and there a hungry Josh eats one of the local fruits - despite Brett's protests that the fruit is entirely unknown and thus could be dangerous, Josh deems it safe since the local alien monkeys eat the fruits on the ground. As it turns out, the local fauna only eats the fruits ''after'' they fell from the trees - because eating a fruit straight from a branch as Josh did causes the eater to transform into a giant replica of said fruit. While at first used an InflatingBodyGag since Josh turns into a massive, orange, warts-covered pear-like-fruit, it slowly delves into the TransformationHorror territory as Josh loses the ability to move by himself, finds himself unable to speak, and starts emitting a powerful stench because he is much too ripe, aka [[BodyHorror rotting away]].
** This ability is also weaponized by the protagonists when fighting off hungry fruit-eating alien monkeys, using the unripe fruits as mutagenic grenades.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'': When [[TeamPet Silkie]] is introduced, he eats some of Starfire's alien zorkaberries, which promptly turns him into an unstoppable (though still cuddly) behemoth. [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}} when it turns out that he's just molting.]]
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' has Jimmy, Sheen and Carl venture into the Bahama Quadrangle and meet with a mysterious scientist named Dr. Moist. There, they find that he lures people there to feed them a mutagenic seaweed that turns them into seaweed monsters, and only a special antidote that he drinks with his weed can reverse the effects.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'': In "[[HalloweenEpisode The Terrifying Tales of Recess]]" (during the segment "Children of the Cornchip"), Cornchip Girl eats from a bag of "Ye Olde Crisps", an untested brand of corn chips imported from a spooky English town, which cause her to turn into a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf-like]] "[[NotUsingTheZWord monster]]".

** Referenced on a ''WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror'' episode in which Homer attempts to wish on a [[JackassGenie Monkey's Paw]] without it backfiring, and so wishes for a normal turkey sandwich. To cover all his bases, he makes sure to specify that he doesn't want the sandwich to turn him into a turkey when he eats it, among other things.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'', Jake and his friends are baking muffins. When told to add vanilla, Spud unwittingly pours in a vial of venom extracted from [[MonsterOfTheWeek a demonic]] [[ScaryScorpions scorpion]] (in his defense, it was right next to the vanilla container), and the resulting muffins cause the people who eat them to take on the creature's properties and begin attacking.

** In "Patty Hype", [=SpongeBob=] invents his own Krabby Patties that come in a multitude of colors. While initially popular with the public, a day after [=SpongeBob=] gives ownership of his stand to Mr. Krabs in exchange for the Krusty Krab, several thousand angry customers come to Mr. Krabs demanding refunds after whatever dye [=SpongeBob=] used to make the patties seeped into their skin and tongues.
** In "Best Frenemies", Mr. Krabs and Plankton [[EnemyMine team up]] to stop a new chain of soft drink places from putting the Krusty Krab out of business. After several failed attempts to learn the Kelpshake recipe and why it's so addictive, they finally just buy one and analyze its contents, where Karen tries to warn them of one particular ingredient but gets ignored. Soon after, they see [=SpongeBob=] covered in green fur, apparently the result of said ingredient that led to the restaurants all being shut down, and Mr. Krabs and Plankton end up equally furry not long after.
** In "The Krusty Sponge", after a less-than-glowing review of the Krusty Krab that ended with praise for [=SpongeBob=], Mr. Krabs decides to make the Krusty Krab [=SpongeBob=]-themed. Part of this was selling Krabby Patties that had turned yellow from not being kept frozen properly as "Spongy Patties", and the people that eat them get food poisoning and turn yellow and spotted like [=SpongeBob=] himself. Unfortunately for Mr. Krabs, one of the victims of the tainted patties is a health inspector, and he ends up going to court for willfully poisoning his customers.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Super Mario World|1991}}'' episode "King Scoopa Koopa", King Koopa begins selling highly addictive egg sandwiches that eventually begin turning his customers into Chickadactyls, whom he then plans to cook and sell to dinosaurs.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCupheadShow'': As a result of taking bites out of Baroness Von Bon Bon's castle and breaking the rules of her world, Cuphead and Mugman are both transformed into sweets; a gummy bear (cup?) and gingerbread man respectively. In a rare occasion of a DownerEnding for the series, they ''don't'' turn back by the end, even after escaping her clutches, and presumably get [[ImAHumanitarian eaten alive by Elder Kettle]].

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', a boy transforms into a giant glue monster after eating radioactive glue.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'' episode "King Scoopa Koopa", King Koopa begins selling highly addictive egg sandwiches that eventually begin turning his customers into Chickadactyls, whom he then plans to cook and sell to dinosaurs.

* The HGame ''Corruption of Champions'' has this as a major game mechanic. Various items and potions can bestow transformations on you, slowly turning you into animal or monstrous forms representative of their origin. "Canine Peppers", for example, subtly alter your physiology into a more... canine form, while "Whisker Fruit" makes you more catlike. Items of opposed species will soon cancel out each other's transformations- and overdosing on certain transformation items will [[BalefulPolymorph turn you permanently]] into that animal, resulting in a bad ending for you.

* ''WesternAnimation/AnimalCrackers2017'' is based around a magic box of animal crackers owned by a circus that allows the performers to take on animal forms for their performances when eating a corresponding animal cracker (such as becoming a lion after eating a lion cracker, a gorilla after eating a gorilla cracker, etc.). A cracker shaped like the person's normal self automatically appears in the box whenever a person eats an animal cracker so they can return to normal afterward. If the human cracker in question is stolen, destroyed, or is otherwise lost, however, [[ShapeshifterModeLock they're chuck out of luck]]; the box only gives the person the one chance to return to normal. Eating pieces multiple crackers at once is also established to result in MixAndMatchCritters. At the end the protagonist is inspired by the whole adventure to turn his failed formula for dog treats into animal crackers that temporarily alter your skin to match animal coats.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', a boy transforms into a giant glue moster after eating radioactive glue.

** In the pilot "The Chicken From Outer Space", eating alien eggs causes Eustace to [[BodyHorror transform into a monstrous chicken man]].

** "Patty Hype" has [=SpongeBob=] inventing his own Krabby Patties that come in a multitude of colors. While initially popular with the public, a day after [=SpongeBob=] gives ownership of his stand to Mr. Krabs in exchange for the Krusty Krab, several thousand angry customers come to Mr. Krabs demanding refunds after whatever dye [=SpongeBob=] used to make the patties seeped into their skin and tongues.

** In "The Krusty Sponge", after a less-than-glowing review of the Krusty Krab that ended with praise for [=SpongeBob=], Mr. Krabs decides to make the Krusty Krab [=SpongeBob=]-themed. Part of this was selling Krabby Patties that had turned yellow from not being kept frozen properly as "Spongy Patties", and the people that eat them get food poisoning and turn yellow and spotted like [=SpongeBob=] himself. Unfortunately for Mr. Krabs, one of the victims of the tainted patties is a health inspector, and he ends up taken to court for willfully poisoning his customers as a result.

* ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'' comic book story "Salad Smurfs" had the Smurfs turning into AnthropomorphicFood from eating magically-treated giant vegetables.
* ''ComicBook/ThargsFutureShocks'': In one comic set in the future humans hunt down ugly-looking snot aliens who mysteriously reproduce en masse by eating their eggs. Which naturally turns out to be the very thing that turns others into new aliens.
* The ''ComicBook/InvaderZimOni'' comic had an issue where Dib's investigation of mutant animals led him to a stock of discarded, radioactive ice cream.

[[folder:Film - Animation]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
* The titular monster in John Carpenter's ''Film/TheThing1982'' is like a [[TheVirus virus]], it can infect people by merely touching them. Since small particles are enough to take over a body, one of the scientists suggests that everyone prepare their own food and eat out of cans in order to prevent contamination via the digestive system.

* In Creator/StephenKing's short story "Grey Matter", [[spoiler:a can of contaminated beer turns a man into a BlobMonster]].
* In a roundabout way this happens in ''Literature/DrFranklinsIsland''. Semi, at that point a small manta ray-like creature, is presented with the chance to become human again. To that end powder is poured into her pool, and she notes that consuming it is just like consuming plankton - like breathing, basically. She and Miranda speculate that the powder is [[LEGOGenetics dried up human DNA]].
* Downplayed in ''Chocolate Fever'', about a boy who eats nothing but chocolate and chocolate-covered food until he gets chocolate freckles all over his body.

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E3DeltaAndTheBannermen "Delta and the Bannermen"]], a character called Billy [[TooDumbToLive intentionally]] eats some "[[MutagenicGoo royal jelly]]" so he can [[BeingHumanSucks turn into an alien]] to be with the CuteAlienGirl he has [[LoveAtFirstSight fallen in love with]] and [[AdamAndEvePlot repopulate her race]] with her. And they lived HappilyEverAfter.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E3PlanetOfTheOod "Planet of the Ood"]], Ood Sigma slowly turns CorruptCorporateExecutive Halpen into an Ood by serving him Ood graft instead of what Halpen thinks is [[NeverTrustAHairTonic hair tonic]].
* In ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'', Chelsea accidentally ate a hamburger on Halloween. It starts a chain of events that results in her and Raven turning themselves into cows.
* A recurring sketch in ''Tittybangbang'' featured a family obsessed with eating nothing but duck and chips. In one sketch the dad has eaten so much of it that he lays a duck's egg and a baby duck hatches. He's undeterred, and resolves to eat ''more'' duck and chips so he can provide a constant supply of duck for his family.

* Creator/BillCosby named a book ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Am-What-Ate-Im-Frightened/dp/0060545739/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319749363&sr=8-1 I Am What I Ate...and I'm Frightened!!!]]''

* A character in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' ("[[PunnyName Funguy]]") eats a special mushroom that [[BalefulPolymorph transforms]] him into a half-human, half-mushroom person.

* ''The hentai game Corruption of Champions'' has this as a major game mechanic. Various items and potions can bestow transformations on you, slowly turning you into animal or monstrous forms representative of their origin. "Canine Peppers", for example, subtly alter your physiology into a more... canine form, while "Whisker Fruit" makes you more catlike. Items of opposed species will soon cancel out each other's transformations- and overdosing on certain transformation items will [[BalefulPolymorph turn you permanently]] into that animal, resulting in a bad ending for you.
* The ''VideoGame/{{SaGa|RPG}}'' series has edible monster meat. In some games it can turn any character into a monster (opposed by cybernetics/robotic upgrades), and in all titles it allows monsters to grow more powerful and/or become a different type of monster.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AlienatorsEvolutionContinues'', Wayne ended up spending the series mutating into a new form OncePerEpisode after accidentally eating one of the alien cells in the first episode.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'', a boy transforms into a giant glue moster after eating radioactive glue.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'' showed a RealLife example with carrots. Arnold ate nothing but carrot-based snacks for days and turned orange.

* When Silkie, the WesternAnimation/{{Teen Titans|2003}}' TeamPet was introduced, he ate some of Starfire's alien zorkaberries, which promptly turned him into an unstoppable (though still cuddly) behemoth. [[spoiler: Subverted when it turns out he was just molting.]]

* In "[[HalloweenEpisode The Terrifying Tales of]] WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}" (during the segment "Children of the Cornchip"), Cornchip Girl eats from a bag of "Ye Olde Crisps", an untested brand of corn chips imported from a spooky English town, which cause her to turn into a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf-like]] "[[NotUsingTheZWord monster]]".
* Referenced on a WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Homer attempts to wish on a [[JackassGenie Monkey's Paw]] without it backfiring, and so wishes for a normal turkey sandwich. To cover all his bases, he makes sure to specify that he doesn't want the sandwich to turn him into a turkey when he eats it, among other things.

* Some opposers of GMO food fear this is true whenever food includes "mutations" ([[ArtisticLicenseBiology or even "DNA"]]). Mutations happen spontaneously in all living organisms, allowing for such things as natural evolution. There could be an infinitesimally small chance that not all the vectors used for transgenic modification were integrated into the nuclei of the GMO, but the stomach produces enzymes that break down DNA.
* Eating too many carrots, or anything else with beta-carotene, can cause your body to dump the pigment into your skin cells rather than metabolise it into Vitamin A (which is seriously poisonous in excessive amounts), making you carrot-coloured. [[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/too-much-sunny-delight-turns-girls-skin-yellow-1134703.html Drinkers of Sunny Delight have also suffered this]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AnimalCrackers2017'' is based around a magic box of animal crackers owned by a circus that allows the performers to take on animal forms for their performances when eating a corresponding animal cracker (such as becoming a lion after eating a lion cracker, a gorilla after eating a gorilla cracker, etc.). A cracker shaped like the person's normal self automatically appears in the box whenever a person eats an animal cracker so they can return to normal afterward. [[spoiler: If the human cracker in question is stolen, destroyed, or is otherwise lost, however, [[ShapeshifterModeLock they're chuck out of luck]]; the box only gives the person the one chance to return to normal.]] Eating multiple crackers at once is also established to [[spoiler:result in MixAndMatchCritters]].

* When Silkie, the WesternAnimation/TeenTitans' TeamPet was introduced, he ate some of Starfire's alien zorkaberries, which promptly turned him into an unstoppable (though still cuddly) behemoth. [[spoiler: Subverted when it turns out he was just molting.]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioBros'' episode "King Scoopa Koopa", King Koopa begins selling highly addictive egg sandwiches that eventually begin turning his customers into Chickadactyls, whom he then plans to cook and sell to dinosaurs.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'', Jake and his friends are baking muffins. When told to add vanilla, Spud unwittingly pours in a vial of venom extracted from [[MonsterOfTheWeek a demonic scorpion]] (in his defense, it was right next to the vanilla container), and the resulting muffins cause the people who eat them to take on the creature's properties and begin attacking.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeamGalaxy'''s episode ''Strange Fruit'', the protagonist land by mistake on an unknown alien planet and there an hungry Josh eats one of the local fruits - despite Brett's protests that the fruit is entirely unknown and thus could be dangerous, Josh deems it safe since the local alien monkeys eat the fruits on the ground. As it turns out, the local fauna only eats the fruits ''after'' they fell from the trees - because eating a fruit straight from a branch as Josh did causes the eater to transform into a giant replica of said fruit. While at first used an InflatingBodyGag since Josh turns into a massive, orange, warts-covered pear-like-fruit, it slowly delves into the TransformationHorror territory as Josh loses the ability to move by himself, finds himself unable to speak, and starts emitting a powerful stench because he is much too ripe, aka [[BodyHorror rotting away]].

* This is the key feature of ''VideoGame/{{Wobbledogs}]''; the mutation of dogs is affected by the food they have eaten. You can unlock more types of food by completing various goals.

-->-- '''Victor Buono''', "The Fat Man's Prayer"

* Some opposers of GMO food fear this is true whenever food includes "mutations" ([[ArtisticLicenseBiology or even "DNA"]]). Mutations happen spontaneously in all living organisms, allowing for such things as natural evolution. There could be a infinitisimally small chance that not all the vectors used for transgenic modification were integrated into the nuclei of the GMO, but the stomach produces enzymes that break down DNA.

This is often given some sort of HandWave in that the food was genetically modified, exposed to radiation, infected with TheVirus, of alien origina, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking past its use-by date]], [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs or some combination of the above]].

This is often given some sort of HandWave in that the food was genetically modified[=/=]exposed to radiation[=/=]infected with TheVirus[=/=]of alien origin[=/=][[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking past its use-by date]].