Shockingly, cannibalism is legal throughout the majority of the United States. No laws expressly prohibit the act of consuming human flesh in 49 states. The majority of cases where cannibalism has been a legal problem involved a different crime. For example, Joe Methany and Jeffrey Dahmer fed flesh to unsuspecting consumers — after they murdered their victims, of course.
The sickening feeling we get with the idea of cannibalism is fairly modern. Even so, most people would probably consume human flesh if it were necessary for survival. Look at the Donner Party or ancient human ancestors. In fact, many tribes around the world partook in cannibalism for sustenance or spiritual reasons.
With all that being said, no one wants to go to a restaurant and bite into a human burger unknowingly. And that’s probably not going to happen. But there are ways where the curious or twisted could technically sample human flesh. Best of all, it’s legal.
Cannibalism is Legal in the United States Except in Idaho
Cannibalism is legal in the United States everywhere except in Idaho. That means there are 49 states where you can legally eat human flesh, which is wild. That being said, there are very few ways to obtain longpig. But we’ll touch on that later.
When we say that cannibalism is illegal in Idaho, that comes with some caveats. For starters, they’re the only state that expressly discusses the act in its legal code. Basically, you can’t get in trouble for cannibalism in other states, but authorities can still charge you with things like desecrating human remains. Secondly, while eating people is illegal in Idaho, it’s not entirely illegal there either.
According to Britannica, the Idaho legislation that outlaws cannibalism forgives specific instances. Namely, if you eat another person in a survival situation where there were no other options, you didn’t break the law. If you kill them to do so, however, that’s still murder. Stealing a corpse from the morgue or grave robbing would also be a crime.
Cannibalism isn’t New to the Americas
Cannibalism wasn’t rare throughout human history. Many tribal and indigenous populations practiced the act, as did ancient hunter-gatherer bands. That being said, cannibalism isn’t common in the United States today, but it once was among certain peoples.
Though the Aztec empire didn’t reach into the continental U.S., many people of Aztec descent now live here. And both the Aztec and nearby tribes ritually participated in cannibalism. A group of Spanish Conquistadors discovered this in 1520, when the Acolhuas people ate them, according to archaeologists.
A myth persists about the Karankawa people, indigenous to coastal Texas, that claims they were bloodthirsty cannibals. This, of course, isn’t true. In reality, the Karankawa people only engaged in a ritual form of cannibalism. This differed from that of the central Mexican tribes, though. The Karankawa practiced cannibalism to absorb the power of their fallen enemies.
New scholarly research shows that most of the rumors about the Karankawa tribe were inaccurate. For example, they rarely ate human flesh in the first place, and the spiritual practice of cannibalism died out before the 1700s.
The United States is a melting pot. Cannibalism is legal here and there are descendants of people who once engaged in the act living in this country. Even so, it’s unlikely that you’ll run into anyone eating human flesh. However, this is how it would look if you did…
Cannibalism is Legal in the United States if You Grow Your Own Human Meat
In 2020, a group of artists and researchers released an exhibit at the Design Museum in London that shocked the world. As a critique of innovations in the meat industry, they created the first “grow your own human meat kit.”
The artists grew the meat from cultures of human flesh and blood cells. It’s an easy process, really. The grower takes cell samples by swabbing the inside of their cheek, followed by a small blood sample. Then, all they have to do is place their samples in a growth dish and feed them. Presto! A home-grown human steak pops out three months later.
You can’t actually purchase a “grow your own human meat” kit at this time, unfortunately. That said, innovative individuals could recreate the process with a basic understanding of biology. And if someone did so, this would be one way that cannibalism is legal in the United States. Otherwise, all of you cannibals will remain hard-pressed for sustenance.
Who knows — maybe the new lab-grown meat industry will be inspired by this exhibit. Not to stop using living cells to grow food, but rather to make a new kind of legal cannibalism — one sold in grocery stores.
Cannibalism is Legal in the United States through Donation (sort of)
Yes, cannibalism is legal in the United States if someone donates their flesh to be eaten. Even then, though, it’s a gray area — so, put your forks down.
According to Cornell Law School, it’s almost impossible to legally donate your body for someone to eat. States like Oklahoma have legal statutes that prevent certain acts involving a corpse, such as consuming any part of it. Even someone specifically dying by suicide with the intent to donate their flesh is a legal no-go.
Legal cannibalism is essentially left to donations from the living. Though, if someone chopped off an arm for another person to eat, they’d probably end up in a mental hospital. Not only that, but if a cannibal eats flesh that isn’t fresh, they face serious sanitation issues. And nobody wants food poisoning.
There’s one way people legally consume human flesh in the U.S., and it’s more popular than you think.
Legal Cannibalism: People Consume Human Blood More Often than You Think
We at Obscurix do not condone the consumption of human blood. It can cause a load of medical issues, and if you don’t get your blood correctly, it can be outright illegal. That being said, cannibalism is legal if you drink properly sourced human blood. And, that’s not a sentence we thought we’d ever type.
All around the country, you can find a subculture of modern-day vampires. These aren’t mythical creatures, but rather a dark counterculture enthralled by the idea.
They throw vampire raves in most major cities around the country. A quick internet search reveals community hubs on Facebook and websites devoted to the vampire “lifestyle.” There are blood-drinking fetish groups and groups for vampire roleplay. However, one group that drinks human blood does so for other reasons. To these folks, vampirism is a folk remedy.
According to the BBC, there are people all over the world who have health problems they believe can only be treated by cannibalizing human blood. Whether it be headaches, stomach pain, fatigue, or other generalized symptoms.
Is drinking human blood a treatment for this mysterious medical condition? Probably not, but this theme recurs throughout much of history. Even so, it’s probably better to consult a medical doctor for your treatments than your local vampire fetish group. That’s what we’d recommend anyhow.
