In case you’ve been living under a rock for…your entire life, you’d be well aware that we are in the thick of a climate crisis. While there’s endless chatter about how humankind is going to survive the next ten to fifteen years, some scientists believe there is a far simpler solution: cannibalism.
According to Futurism, during Sweden’s recent Gastro Summit, Stockholm School of Economic professor Magnus Soderlund leg a talk titled “Can You Imagine Eating Human Flesh?”
Apparently, climate change means we’re going to have to eat foods we’ve never considered, including pets, insects, and…well, other humans.
Soderland is by no means suggesting we recreate The Purge and go on a massive killing spree, but he believes that eating the flesh of already-dead humans could help us “live sustainably.”
As for whether he would be game to eat human flesh, Soderland said, “I feel somewhat hesitant but to only appear overly conservative…I’d have to say…I’d be open to at least tasting it,” he told TV4.
Before you start considering whether you’d bake or fry your annoyed loved one, consider the health risks associated with cannibalism. According to Medical News Today, a tribe in Papua New Guinea were practicing transumption – the eating of deceased relatives – which lead to an epidemic of a disease called Kuru AKA “the laughing sickness.”
Healthline states that Kuru is a “rare and fatal nervous system disease.” Symptoms include muscle twitching, loss of coordination, difficulty walking, involuntary movements, behavioural and mood changes, dementia and malnutrition. Yikes.
Soderland is obviously just thinking of how we can live sustainably in the future, but if it means eating our dead family and friends, we’ve got a long way to go until cannibalism isn’t taboo.