Cannibalism vs Eating Meat

We all must eat to survive. However, since becoming a vegetarian, I have heard many peoples’ justifications for eating meat. The most common excuse, “An animals’ taste coupled with its diminished cognitive capacity justifies our consumption of it” (Caouette). In other words “animals are stupid and they taste good, so I’m justified in eating them.” But if I thought human flesh tasted good, would there be any justification in killing and eating someone? Why is it in our society, eating meat is considered morally acceptable, while eating your friends isn’t? What is considered morally unacceptable? To me, “morally acceptable” is something that does not offend other’s moral beliefs. There are moral and ethical standards, unwritten rules, enforced by society, and it is expected of us to fall in line with them. Most people have been brought up eating meat because our culture accepts it, so many don’t question it. However, once someone questions whether or not people should eat meat, arguments arise from firm meat-eating believers to justify why people should continue their current carnivorous behavior. Justifications like, “We need the protein that is provided in meat, our teeth are made for eating meat, and humans are more intelligent and more rational than animals (Yount). Most arguments given to justify the eating of meat can also be used to justify the eating of humans. So why then has cannibalism been so fiercely condemned? Eating people would solve two major problems: over population and world hunger. Yet we don’t even consider it because it’s “beyond the pale of acceptable human behavior” (“Cannibalism”). Is eating meat considered cannibalism? Are they even on the same level? How do meat eaters differ from cannibals? Wait, what even is cannibalism? “Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh or internal organs of other human beings” (“Cannibalism”). It is both widespread and has been well documented around the world, from Fiji to the Amazon Basin to the Congo to Maori New Zealand. Fiji was even once known as the ‘Cannibal Isles’. In come societies, cannibalism is actually considered a cultural norm. It is believed that eating a person’s flesh or internal organs will endow the cannibal with some of the characteristics of the deceased (“Cannibalism”). While meat eaters are not necessarily consuming human flesh, they are still eating the flesh of other animals. If you are going by the definition of cannibalism, then no, eating animals is not the same as eating human flesh, but what about ethically? Are they the same? “People who eat human flesh are usually charged with crimes other than cannibalism, such as murder or desecration of a body” (“Cannibalism”). Why is it not the same for people who eat the flesh of animals? Are the animals not killed and desecrated in the same fashion as cannibalized humans? Why are the people who eat animals not charged with the same crimes? Is our value of human life different from that of the value we place on animal life? If we see relatively/generally no problem with eating animals, but gawk at the thought of eating a fellow person, then we obviously value them quite a bit differently. One could say that people are higher functioning beings than animals, and “are morally conscious of their behavior in a way other animals are not, and therefore subject to higher standards” (“Ethics”). This goes along with the argument that humans are more intelligent and rational than non-humans, giving us the right and opportunity to be able to use animals for food. But there are unintelligent humans too, so how are they excluded from poor treatment? It is not even difficult to obtain our necessary protein from other sources. There is no need for animal-derived products in your diet, and you’re better off without them. Just because our anatomy is able to do something does not imply that we should do it. Even if our teeth can eat meat, then this argument does not give us any moral reason to not eat humans (Yount). It may be inconvenient to not eat meat, but not difficult, all you need is a reliable source of vitamin B12 to help fortify your diet. Are there benefits or positive effects (health or otherwise) of meat consumption greater than the negative consequences or undesirable costs of producing it (Smil)? “Physicians have actually run trials and treated people for diabetes, high blood pressure, and did cancer studies with animals, and found out that a diet of meat and dairy is unhealthy, and the best diet is whole food plant-based, fruits, and vegetables” (Yount). Why kill cattle, pigs, chickens, and fish for food, if it is not necessary? Why is it morally acceptable to eat meat, even when it is unacceptable to eat people? There are many similarities between meat eaters and cannibals, but are they related? We all need to eat to survive. How and where we get our food it what is all comes down to though. So it’s up to you, is eating meat ethical? If given the option would you eat human flesh if it was socially and morally acceptable? Or would you find something else to eat, like me?