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From: rigney@uokvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: Orphaned Response - (nf)
Message-ID: <3596@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 9-Nov-83 00:12:40 EST
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.3596
Posted: Wed Nov  9 00:12:40 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 6-Nov-83 02:55:30 EST
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#R:hplabsc:-143800:uokvax:2700005:000:1093
uokvax!rigney    Oct 30 11:17:00 1983

Please note that cannibalism has never been a major source of protein
for any culture whatsoever.  Clearly one is better off eating what the
victims eat than letting them eat it and then eating them.  Cannibalism
is largely a religious/cultural phenomenon, and not a nutritional one.

Cannibals do not consider people as food, they generally only eat certain
portions of their enemies.  Although in some cases the entire enemy is
consumed (with the best parts going to the warriors, of course), I can
think of no case where people were treated as a standard food source.
Of course I'm talking about actual cultures, and not isolated incidents
such as the Donner party and Alfred Packer.  The reasons why Hindus
don't eat beef are entirely different from the reasons why Americans
don't eat people.

To anyone who would like to know about all this, I heartily recommend
Marvin Harris's books CANNIBALS AND KINGS, and COWS, PIGS, WARS, AND
WITCHES, which will also tell you why pork was forbidden in the bible.

	Carl
	..!ctvax!uokvax!rigney
	..!duke!uok!uokvax!rigney
		... or so they tell me.