What are opinions of why people should not eat other people?

Answer 1

This is a revolting question to many, to be sure, but not necessarily an inappropriate one. There have been many world cultures where cannibalism has been considered not only acceptable, but noble. It has been practiced by some of the indigenous peoples of South America and some of the islands of Oceania. There are people from some of these groups still living, who remember the old ways and even regret that modern society has compelled them to stop.

There are a few well known incidents where survivors of catastrophes like plane crashes have survived by consuming parts of those who did not survive. This most often happens when the catastrophe leaves a group of people with little if any hope of finding help or being rescued any time soon.

There are also very notorious serial killers who have engaged in this practice, preying upon their victims. Jeffrey Dahrmer (killed in prison by a fellow prisoner) is perhaps the most widely known currently.

All of that said, there are overwhelming social, religious and personal taboos against this practice. It is at or near the top of the list of things that are most disgusting and repulsive to our human sensibilities. To some, it may be as bad as or worse than murder. We are conditioned to think of human life as sacred, and this is good. We express profound sorrow at the loss of loved ones and throughout the world cultures go to some lengths to prepare the dead for final disposition, and many conduct rituals to memorialize the dead and to help usher them into a final spiritual resting place. There are some examples of cannibalism from the animal world, but they are few, and probably happen when a population is under great stress. Still it appears that even in the natural world there is some degree of force against it.

It is safe to say that even in cases of the most extreme duress and lack of malevolent intent, this practice is considered an aberration at best; it is not likely to ever become more than a very rare and highly unusual event.

Not to mention that there are health concerns with eating other people. There are many diseases you can get. Being internally exposed to other peoples' blood can cause HIV or hepatitis. The brain can contain the mad cow disease, the body can harbor bacteria and fungus, and there are diseases like Kuru that is triggered only through the consuming of human flesh.

In terms of health concerns, eating people is particularly bad. A disease organism that can live in, say, a cow's tissues might be able to live in a human being, but a disease organism that can live in a human being's tissues can definitely live in a human being.

Answer 2

Eating other people is unethical and violates the basic principles of respect for human life, dignity, and autonomy. It also poses serious health risks, as consuming human flesh can expose individuals to harmful pathogens and diseases. Finally, it goes against societal norms and legal regulations that prohibit cannibalism.