I have wondered for some time, and asked several religious and atheistic friends and associates this question on several occasions. so far, received no satisfactory answer.
Most people, upon hearing that someone they know see's no issue with the consumption of human flesh (not necessitating murder), will find the concept and often the individual in question, quite revolting.
However, I have two issues with this.
WSGilbert put the case for cannibalism very eloquently in the following poem:
Listen to The Yarn of the Nancy Bell by WS Gilbert (MONO-079) by GypsyJackBoggleShow #np on #SoundCloud
[soundcloud.com]
Hahaha! Think of the health issues it can cause if you eat certain parts of the body; kuru if you eat the brain.
I was under the impression that consuming significant amounts of human flesh carried some serious health risks, but I might be wrong about that. I don't eat any animal flesh, though, and that includes human.
Me too!
Other cultures honor their dead by consuming the body, so our repulsion about cannibalism is cultural. We also see examples of people having to do this in order to live- like the Argentinian soccer team back in the 80s, so we do accept it during certain scenarios. I can't imagine doing it, but I've also never been in a situation where I had to, so I wouldn't judge it too harshly unless it involves murder. Some people have a sexual fixation for cannibalism- I knew someone like this, and when his murderous fantasies were exposed, he got into a shit-load of trouble.
He got in trouble for having fantasies or did he act upon them?