004: Cannibalism
Why do humans have such an aversion to eating each other? How many cultures really practice cannibalism? And does cannibalism happen in the Western world anymore? (Yes. The answer is yes.)
Today's guest is Bill Schutt, zoologist and research associate at the American Museum of Natural History. He's also the author of the book "Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History."
Bill Schutt is also the author of the nonfiction book "Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures" and the adventure novel "Hells Gate" (among many others).
Citations and further reading:
- Cannibalism is common in the animal kingdom – here’s why for humans it’s the ultimate taboo by Jared Piazza and Neil McLatchie, The Conversation
- Die, or break the ultimate taboo: Survivor's moving account of how Andes plane crash victims were forced to eat their friends' bodies in story which still haunts the world 40 years on by Dr. Roberto Canassa for The Daily Mail
- Carnivorous Dinosaurs Like Allosaurus Were Cannibals by Riley Black, Smithsonian.com
- 'Wet markets' likely launched the coronavirus. Here's what you need to know by Dina Fine Marcon, NationalGeographic.com
- Singer Bryan Adams slammed as racist for post blaming 'bat eating' people for coronavirus by Gwen Aviles, NBC News
- Why West Africans keep hunting and eating bush meat despite Ebola concerns by Abby Philip, Washington Post
- The new coronavirus is not an excuse to be racist by Eleanor Cummins, The Verge
- Chicken most likely to make you sicken, CDC illness data show by Kathy Kristof, CBS News
- Thank You for Not Eating Your Placenta by Jen Gunter, The New York Times
- No, you shouldn’t eat your placenta, here’s why by Byrony McNeill, The Conversation
- Placentophagia in Humans and Nonhuman Mammals: Causes and Consequences by Mark B. Kristal, Jean M. DiPirro, and Alexis C. Thompson; Ecology of Food and Nutrition 2012
- Human Birth: An Evolutionary Perspective by Wendy R. Trevathan, Taylor & Francis
- Human Maternal Placentophagy: A Survey of Self-Reported Motivations and Experiences Associated with Placenta Consumption Jodi Selander, Allison Cantor, Sharon M. Young, and Daniel C. Benyshek, Ecology of Food and Nutrition 2013
- Why do some people eat their placenta? by Riley Botelle, BMC Series Blog
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