For most of us, cannibalism is one of the few remaining societal taboos: fillet of human is rarely on the menu. But cannibalism is widespread throughout the animal kingdom – it is part of nature – and that makes it OK, says cannibal and Friends of the Earth campaigner, Hermann Van der Bommel the Carpathian.
In an interview with the pro-cannibalism magazine, Readers Digesting, Hermann explains his thoughts on cannibalism as it relates to nature, stating that cannibalism seems to be part of the natural order of life and is not genetically counter-productive. In fact, he argues, it can be beneficial.
“It has been observed that Mexican lance-headed rattlesnakes cannibalise their young all the time. This is sometimes due to stress, or when the young is weak, so cannibalism can benefit the mother by giving her nutrients and helping her get ready to give birth again. It’s similar to human abortion, except we don’t eat our young, we just throw them in a bin – so we still have some progressing to do.”
Citing his own book, I’m Eating Gilbert Grape, Hermann states that the vast amount of documented cannibalistic behaviour in other species will set the stage for what he calls the “appetite spectrum”.
“I think — I’m pretty sure about this, I’m an observer of nature — there’s a spectrum. We’re all animals, and some animals, including human animals, are more inclined to eat the flesh of their own species. So we’re all cannibals, really. You just eat one less species than me.”
Asked how cannibalism fits into the grand scheme of evolution — based upon a belief that the “the only purpose of life is to get your genes into the next generation” — Hermann explains that cannibalism exists throughout nature – such as in sharks and spiders – and life still finds a way to move forward.
“Being on the appetite spectrum – vegan at one end and cannibal at the other – being on that spectrum is not detrimental to our species. You can still be a cannibal and exhibit other more popular evolved traits like empathy and love. In fact, only three percent of what I do is cannibalistic. The rest of the time I’m perfectly empathetic.”
“I don’t know about you, but I know a great many people – highly intelligent people who listen to Mozart and stuff – who just want to be true to themselves and have a forearm supper without having to meet someone on the dark web and then travel to Germany,” Hermann explained before adding, “So cannibalism needs to be destigmatised. We need to trust cannibals to make their own decisions based on what is natural and what is right for them.”