Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I can't even imagine being in a position where this scenario could play out - but never say never. There but for the grace of God go I.

With the right sea salt it might be a possibility

Shoot, if it's amply marbled, I'll slap a usda prime logo on it and go to town.

Actually, thinking more, I wouldn't mind someone eating me, if it was a matter of life and death and if they didn't actually kill me achieve this. If I was in a situation where it might be the case that I might die, and that someone or others might do well by eating me, I would certainly give permission for them to do so. So, on that basis, and with some difficulty - having recently said that I would never eat a primate - and knowing that I would have to be very very hungry indeed before I could do it - a qualified 'yes'.

Does licking count??? ;-p

It's sald to taste like Spam, it that's any help.

if you had no water you would die of thirst long before you died of hunger, plus there ain't much wood in the desert to use for cooking and eating the body raw would kill you anyway....enjoy.

I really can't stand tough meat, so it would depend on the preparation. I probably would.

Yes I would. Not the active ones, they would be too stringy.

Only if he/she/it/they come with the salad bar, and a mini soft serve ice cream (vanilla or chocolate... depending...)

@Perky,
Live or dead?!

Only if I really thought I had a chance of surviving. If I was on a desert island and there really was no other food, then I would really only be buying myself more time before my inevitable death. However, if it were the case like the Donner party where I just had to wait out the storm and I could eventually make it to civilization or be rescued, then I might.

i shall never let another man past my lips.

@izatryt -- ha! it's a quote from some old british dance hall routine -- flanders and swann, maybe? very funny and full of double entendres. claudia schmidt, a brilliant singer songwriter from chicago, used to perform it. it went {in part} "i won't eat people, i won't eat people, eating people is wrong. i shall never let another man past my lips!" i can't recall the rest but it was big fun.

@Perky,
Live or dead?!
Foodlexi at 5:47AM on 05/26/08

@Foodlexi.......I always check to make sure they're very much alive and if not, they're off my man as lollipop/ice cream cone list. Sorry, no women. ;-)

@PerkyMac,
Well - that's a relief!

You're right Cybercita,
Wonderfully remembered.
I had to go to check the whole song. Here it is:
http://members.optushome.com.au/pennywyatt/Interests/FlandersSwann/DropOfaHat/At%20the%20Drop%20of%20a%20Hat09.html

I seem not to have to have got the knack of putting in links that work. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? (Hope this one works in the meantime.

Right now, the thought isn't completely repelling, so....maybe?
(If I were really desperate and/or I were assured people were really really delicious).

@foodlexi, you made my day! i haven't ever seen that song written down. i was a fan of claudia's in high school, and that's going back a decade or three.
off topic, who are you rooting for on britain's got talent? i'm stuck on andrew muir. {i watch snips of it on youtube. i'm totally hooked!}

When my ancestors were coming to this country a few generations ago, their ship broke down and they were stranded mid-ocean. Food ran out, and the passengers and crew were literally starving. A small number of people volunteered to be killed and eaten. There was a doctor on board who examined the volunteers, and one person was selected. Shortly before this was to occur, another ship was sighted and signaled. Rescue came and nobody died. Close call for all involved.

This is a family story that occured in the late 19th century, and I have no way to authenticate it. It is, I believe, a true story.

Just think of the hiker that hacked his own arm off to escape being pinned down by a boulder, he knew it was that or death. I think the will to live sometimes trumps other issues like being grossed out or morally opposed and becomes very practical, like -- eat this dead body and you live. Then of course deal with the emotional consequences later, like I think happened with the "Alive" survivors.

That all depends. Do I get to pick who I get to eat?
Every time I look around I see people who, based on their diet, personal hygiene and lifestyle would not be deemed edible by the USDA.
That whole 'you are what you eat' thing freaks me out.

And speaking of that, do you think a smoker would taste different from a non-smoker?

@skipfires--Please tell me you watched the 1982 version starring Angela Lansbury and George Hearn. It's a classic.

Yikes!

I recently saw a documentary involving the survivors of the air crash in the Andes on which 'Alive' was based. They had almost all survived into old age. They seemed almost without exception to have a grace and distinction, and a sense of indebtedness and appreciation of what had been donated by those who died in the crash, and enormous, profound respect.

They, of course, absolutely did not kill anyone, but ate the flesh of those who had died and which was preserved in the freezing conditions on the mountain. During the documentary, the survivors together with surviving relatives of those who had died, went to the crash site. It was so dignified and forgiving of their awful dilemma - but I think mainly because of their own extraordinary dignity and humanity.

You did sort of wonder whether they had ever really been able to have 'fun' again, but might perhaps have spent their lives thinking that they could never be seen again to be laughing or trivialising anything. I think I might feel that. That the actual eating might be almost the easiest part (only in this peculiar and dreadful extremis) and that then you would have a life time of thinking about the part that person now has in your own body and becoming more and more curious about them - a bit like after a transplant of a vital organ. You must feel incredible curiosity about that person who died so that you might live.

>>>> I've hesitated to comment on this topic as I seem to remember it being removed as a topic once before. But with 45 comments and still going strong perhaps the topic will not be deleted.
----------------------------------------------------

Oops, I was not aware of that. But as you said, since this thread is still here, perhaps we have proven to the S.E. gang we are capable of discussing such controversial topics without getting carried away. Or... perhaps they haven't seen it yet. :)

By the way, I asked my brother the question during our family holiday, and he was quick to inform everyone that HE would happily eat ME, even if he wasn't starving or in any dire straits.

Family holidays are such wonderful times.

There is a story I like about William Golding (who seems to be famous for writing Lord of the Flies, whilst actually also having written a range of quite extraordinary books, including Pincher Martin, The Spire, The Inheritors, Rites of Passage etc).

He had a life-long interest in ships and life under sail. As a child he was taken by his father who went as a special guest to visit, I *think*, HMS Victory. They were taken around the empty ship by a Naval officer. This man recognised in William Golding the sense of magic with which the child was enveloped the moment he set foot on board. Reaching up he chipped a tiny bit of wood from a beam with his thumb nail, leaned down and handed it out towards the child. William Golding took it and, knowing that it was one of the most precious things he would ever hold in his hand, sought about for somewhere safe to keep and then popped it into his mouth. By this means the ship, its history, its men, its challenges on the ocean somehow all became absorbed into his own small person.

Karen Resta,

This is really interesting - and there is also the issue of knowing what you are eating. Those who eat fugu without knowing what it is report a bland fish with no particular merit. Those who know what they are eating report buzzing of lips, tightening of throat, divine flavour and so on. Overcoming taboos knowingly, or risking death knowingly may change your palate considerably.

And objective measures of taste would be completely impossible to define. Starting with the ingredients, before you even start on the palate.... We carried out a blind tasting of tomatoes in our local garden club. Twenty different tomatoes were tasted by about 15 people. Top for flavour came 'Sioux' grown by Chris. Second was smuggled in vine tomato from a good local supermarket. Somewhere around 17th came another 'Sioux' grown by Mary. What we couldn't work out was what was the most crucial difference - the amount of watering, the exposure to warmth or light, the timing of the harvesting, the amount of feeding. I do realise that you 'could' create a constant, with something baked, but even DOC cheeses and wines differ in many cases. And the 'human' may, like me, be richly marbled, fed itself on wonderful foods, adding to my unusually good flavour; it could be practically pré-salé, or it could be scrawny, wiry, full of tendons like my friend Allan!

But then many Chinese, who like the elbows and feet and tendons of things, would prefer Allan to the rich cossetting of me. All to do with culture and the mind.

MOH ( a good Catholic) would make a *wonderful* banquet!

Aw. Shucks :)

I have probably eaten a couple of pencils in my time, but I don't think they would appear as splinters of wood! I read recently as well that the "average person" (which I think means someone who is eating a lot of processed/pre-prepared foods) eats something more than a pound of insects a year........ But then I always think of shrimps as being a sort of marine insect, and I love them - and have also voluntary eaten crickets and flying ants in Mexico. If we are what we eat, I should be metamorphosing soon - with any luck into a beautiful butterfly. But also, if we are what we eat, I have some nice foie gras on offer.

And the 'human' may, like me, be richly marbled, fed itself on wonderful foods, adding to my unusually good flavour; it could be practically pré-salé, or it could be scrawny, wiry, full of tendons like my friend Allan!

But then many Chinese, who like the elbows and feet and tendons of things, would prefer Allan to the rich cossetting of me.

============================ Quote: Foodlexi

That has to be one of the most... awesomely and strangely hilarious comments I've read on any forum, anywhere, ever. LOL

It's nice that we can all get together like this, and talk about eating each other.

Has anyone seen the film "Dumpling" from the Three Extremes trilogy?

OK, so I'm picky about spelling, but...

Though this whole discussion is fascinating, I'm still chuckling at the original post...

"stranded in the dessert"

which would be lots more fun than the desert, IMO. That whole "licking" sidebar might then come into play. =)

I used to know a vegan who was looking for a pregnant friend to give him her placenta to eat. My mind immediately went to "Placenta Helper." I don't know if that ever really panned out for him.