Neo-cannibalism ”promoted” by Swedish State Television

SVT the government-funded Swedish public service TV and Swedish Channel 4 promotes neo-cannibalism as the solution to the climate threat, sustainability, and atmospheric carbon dioxide issues. The basic idea has a typical limitless, liberal and socialistic touch some critics complain. 

SVT aired on September 3 a TV show called ”Fråga Lund” where distinguished academics and professors answer scientific questions. The question of cannibalism was brought up, and a reporter asked people on the street what part of the body they would prefer to eat if they had to.

The Swedish people with an international reputation of always being nice and loyal to their government, answered politely that they would gladly eat an arm or a leg, and some more fastidious Swedes answered they would start light with a finger or a nail. The whole approach to the subject of neo-cannibalism is snappy and humorous.

Neo-cannibalism raise many questions

On the same day, Swedish Channel 4 (TV4, After five) interviewed Magnus Söderlund a behavioral scientist and professor in marketing about eating human flesh. Söderlund claims the importance of seriously looking into the possibility for humans to eat dead humans. He addresses the taboos.

”The first thing is that this human that is to be eaten has to be dead. It’s kind of normal when one eats humans, and dead humans already is a taboo in itself even though that notion is tampered with, in the sense that people kill each other pretty wildly…”

Magnus Söderlund goes on saying these problems could hinder people that want to break into the human flesh market. At the end of the interview, he maintains the seriousness of human flesh-eating since this could be the solution for sustainability and climate issues.

In Sweden, the National Board of Health and Welfare is the authority that records the Swedish individuals that wish to donate their organs. This should be the authority that people need to give approval to in case human flesh-eating becomes a reality.

Many ethical, economical and practical questions emerge in the wake of this move by flesh-eating predecessors. Who may eat whom? Can family members eat their own? What would be the price for human flesh? Will there be price differences depending on the quality and age of the body donator? Would the dead body of a Swedish prime minister be available on the open flesh market? And what about the kids?

By Torbjörn Sassersson, NewsVoice

Sources and related stories

• NewsVoice: TV4 presenterar försiktig normalisering av svensk kannibalism
• SVT: Fråga Lund – Avsnitt 1, 2019
• NewsWeek: Cannibalism is common in the animal kingdom – Here’s why for humans it’s the ultimate taboo
• RT: A modest proposal indeed: Academia considers cannibalism
• TV4: Forskaren undersöker möjligheten att äta människokött: ”Finns många tabun”
• Daily Mail: Why is cannibalism taboo? Psychologists say eating members of the same species is natural and we could ’adapt to human flesh if need be’ in extreme cases