Robert_S wrote:
They would be non-human people and it would be much like cannibalism. You have to have their permission to eat them.
Actually, there was a case a while back involving a guy in Germany who killed and ate a fully consenting 'victim'. He was obviously charged for the killing, but apparently the eating after the killing wasn't illegal per se - so it would have been fine to have acquired a corpse and eaten it as carrion, seemingly…
This is a good op-ed on the matter:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/pers ... wrong.html
No matter how you cut it up, eating people is simply wrong
Not a few modern cannibals in the West have been German and it would be tempting to say, after reading the testimony of self-confessed cannibal Armin Meiwes, now on trial in Kassel, that eating people is a peculiarly German thing to do. But there have been some American and British cannibals, with the odd Russian as well.
What may be an EU speciality is that apparently cannibalism is not a crime - though using wooden chopping boards may be. Somehow, one would feel slightly more comfortable living in a union where people may eat each other occasionally, but at least it's against the law.
...
Meiwes, 41, advertised on the internet for someone he could eat and apparently it took 400 e-mails before he got it right. Quite a few sites exist for people with a predilection for cannibalism, but, like much of the internet, people lie about their age - and their tastes.
According to Meiwes's testimony, several prospective meals showed up at his home, including a man who was wrapped in cling-film with the parts of him he wanted eaten labelled.
But "cannabilees" are picky: the man in cling-film found it "too cold" on the hook that Meiwes had hung him on, so he was cut down and they had pizza instead.
Another wanted his genitals burnt by a flamethrower before being eaten, which Meiwes found "too weird". There are gradations in weirdness and they seem to effect cannibals as much as anyone else.
...
According to Meiwes's testimony, Brandes came to his house perfectly ready and eager. "I hope you'll find me tasty," he said.
Brandes is said to have swigged down a bottle of the cold remedy Night Nurse and some non-prescription sleeping pills. Apparently Brandes wanted his penis cut off and made into the meal's appetizer, but didn't want it to hurt.
Night Nurse, as many a sufferer knows, is the only good part of having the flu, since it has a relatively high alcohol content. Non-prescription sleeping pills are hopeless and it comes as no surprise that the excitement of the prospective amputation triumphed over the tablets' sedative effects.
Anyway, the whole thing was nearly called off when an un-sedated Brandes decided to return to Berlin. But at the train station, like many a lover, he turned back for one more go and downed another bottle of Night Nurse.
This did the trick. "Cut the thing off," he is said to have demanded and Meiwes obliged. The video Meiwes made of these events apparently confirms that Brandes's participation was voluntary, though prosecutors claim Brandes must have been incapable of rational thought.
According to Meiwes, Brandes was so keen to taste his own fried member that he started eating it before it was cooked properly, so as not to die without experiencing this longed for pleasure. He perished 10 hours later.
The internet has quite a lot of cannibal sites. Some of the language is slightly unusual. "I am a tall stocky long pig looking for a big-bodied male chef who would like to have a feast of me," says one man at a hotmail address. People swap helpful tips, such as "How to Practice Safe Cannibalism".
Cannibals may not know that "eating people is wrong", as the Flanders & Swann song has it, but they do know that eating the wrong people can be medically dangerous.
Prosecutors have chosen to charge Meiwes with "murder motivated for sexual satisfaction". His lawyers argue that he is only guilty of "killing on request", which, in the wake of society's sympathy for euthanasia, carries a maximum term of five years.
Legal opinion in Germany seems to be that, given the victim's evident consent to the crime, it will be difficult to get a murder conviction.
Heaven knows, I'm an extreme libertarian and really believe that the state has no place in the bedrooms - or dining rooms - of the nation. But surely it cannot be legal to eat people, even if they wish to be on the menu.
Article continues…
My emphases.
And this is the Wikipedia article on Armin Meiwes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armin_Meiwes
I really shouldn't laugh, but…
<--- oh dear, there's that embarrassing redness again! 