Essay Example on Cannibalism

Cannibalism is an act of human beings eating the flesh or internal organs (e.g. lungs and liver) of fellow humans. A person who engages in the practice of cannibalism is known as a cannibal. The practice has been reported in humans, especially in prehistoric times. With the exception of the Korowai tribe, which is still believed to eat human flesh, cannibalism is rare today. The main reason why the practice is rare is because of the social stigma (e.g. murder) associated with it. However, it is worth noting that even if consumption of human flesh was allowed, it could be detrimental to people's health. For instance, the practice could lead to prion diseases and increased weight.

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One of the disadvantages of eating human flesh is that it can make the cannibal contract prion diseases. The diseases belong to a family of neurodegenerative disorders. More specifically, eating the human brain which is highly contaminated with prions as compared to other body parts lead to an increased risk of developing prion disease. Other body parts with toxic levels of prion in an affected individual include bone marrow and the small intestine. The disease kills the nerve cells leading to brain damage and eventually death. Current examples of prion diseases in humans include kuru and Creutzfeld-Jacob disease. These diseases are mostly found in tribal regions of Papua New Guinea. It became widespread in the 1950s in New Guinea following cannibalism performed on corpses by the Fore people as part of funeral rituals. Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by difficulty in walking, dementia, poor muscle coordination, behavioral disorders, and difficulty eating which leads to malnutrition. These diseases have no cure and lead to death in less than one year of contraction.

Another disadvantage of eating human flesh is that it makes the human flesh-eater fat. This is because most body parts contain very high calories. For instance, the arm contains about 1800 calories, the legs have a total of 14, 300 calories, the lungs and liver supply approximately 1500 calories each, and the brain supplies about 2,700 calories. Therefore, if any of these body parts is consumed, it will cause the body to store the extra energy in the form in the form of fats. Consequently, there will be an increase in body weight. Increased body weight has been associated with diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.

Consumption of fats found in adipose tissue of human beings increases the risk of developing other diseases. For instance, it may increase the risk of developing cancers. This is because fats accelerate the generation of secondary compounds that cause cancer. Moreover, consuming too much adipose tissue may lead to insulin resistance, a condition where the body is ineffective in using insulin. When an individual develops insulin resistance, blood glucose levels will rise above the optimum leading to diabetes. Furthermore, high blood glucose levels lead to the destruction of nerves and blood vessels resulting in more complications and disorders such as stroke, kidney failure, and coronary diseases.

In conclusion, no benefits of cannibalism have been found. On the contrary, cannibalism is has been found to cause life-threatening diseases and disorders e.g. Kuru disease. These diseases shorten the lifespan of the cannibals with most of them dying after one year of contracting neurodegenerative diseases. Because of the harmful side effects, cannibalism is bad for our health.