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5[[quoteright:265:[[VideoGame/Fallout4 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fo4_cannibal.png]]]]
6[[caption-width-right:265:[[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs I'm having an old friend for dinner.]]]]
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11
12->''For what's that sound of the world out there?\
13That crunching noise that's pervading the air?\
14It's man devouring man, my dear--\
15And who are we to deny it in here?''
16-->-- '''Sweeney Todd''', ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet''
17
18If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
19
20No, [[WellThisIsNotThatTrope this trope]] [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant is not about]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarianism humanitarianism]]. Quite the opposite, in fact.
21
22Cannibalism is considered one of the greatest taboos, so, naturally, it's become a trope. One idea which stands out is that human flesh is superficially similar to swine flesh, hence [[DeadlyEuphemism the nickname "long pig" and the phrase "eating the long pork"]].[[note]]It's also sometimes called "the other white meat", but it is, in fact, red, as all mammalian meat is.[[/note]] [[https://www.wired.com/2006/11/robot-identifie/ A robot designed to taste wine corroborates this idea.]] Thus, it should be delicious, which is reflected both in Franchise/HannibalLecter's [[WickedCultured gourmet tastes]], and in the idea in ''Theatre/SweeneyTodd'' that pies with this ingredient would sell like hotcakes. Or hot pies.
23
24You'll often have people eat something and not know what it is, and [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies then discover the ghastly truth]], such as in many an InnOfNoReturn.
25
26A mostly DiscreditedTrope is a variation that portrays members of non-European societies as cannibalistic, often attempting to [[CapturedByCannibals cook visiting Europeans in a pot]]. See CannibalFilm for the {{Exploitation|Film}} subgenre based on this.
27
28Post-apocalyptic fiction may depict a bleak future in which starving survivors prey on each other for food. In some post-apocalyptic works, society is divided into cannibals and non-cannibals.
29
30In SpeculativeFiction, cannibalism is generally extended to include [[SapientEatSapient eating any sapient creature]], even if they aren't technically eating their own species. Any species that includes humans (or other humanoids) [[ToServeMan in its diet]] is usually portrayed as [[AlwaysChaoticEvil villainous]], as is any species that routinely [[MonstrousCannibalism eats members of its own social group]]. Likewise, humans treating other sapient species as food are rarely treated sympathetically (unless WhatMeasureIsANonHuman is in effect). If an alien or monster race make a practice of eating their own (as well as or instead of humans), then we have a case of MonstrousCannibalism.
31
32[[OurZombiesAreDifferent To various degrees]], anthropophagy[[note]]This term and related ones are technically more appropriate than "cannibalism" for a non-human species that eats humans. It's actually more common for works to get this wrong than for them to get it right, possibly because Greek is no longer commonly taught and therefore "anthropophage" just doesn't have that same ''frisson'' of terror that "cannibal" does.[[/note]] is usually [[FleshEatingZombie expected]] of ZombieMooks.
33
34If the cannibal systematically hunts down people on a regular basis so they can eat them, they'll be a SerialKiller as well.
35
36Because cannibalism is such a heavy taboo in most cultures, someone who willingly engages in the practice will usually be treated as having crossed the MoralEventHorizon.
37
38As an interesting side note for tropers living in the United States of America, only 16 of the 50 states have laws that explicitly make eating other people illegal. The other 34 tend to handle such cases under the purview of laws dealing with [[DesecratingTheDead desecration]] or [[ILoveTheDead molestation]] of dead bodies.
39
40A SubTrope of IAteWhat and HumanResources. Can also involve CarnivoreConfusion without anthropomorphic animals (or maybe ''with'' them -- see the paragraph on SpeculativeFiction above). See ToServeMan for when aliens and monsters find us tasty. PickyPeopleEater and BrainFood is for those not interested in mere muscles. See also LetsMeetTheMeat. Compare NoPartyLikeADonnerParty, for when persons are forced into cannibalism due to starvation, or TheSecretOfLongPorkPies, for when someone is unknowingly tricked into it. When you get down to the bitter dregs, there's {{Autocannibalism}}. Also, see FatteningTheVictim for when people are fattened before being eaten.
41
42Note that this trope applies to non-humans who are sapient or otherwise capable of independent thought or communication even if they only eat their own kind. Likewise, this trope is ''not'' about anyone eating humans. It's about ''cannibalism''.
43
44Interesting note: In many cultures this is actually the primary method of funerary rites, done either under the logic that [[DueToTheDead the dead will be able to live on in their loved ones]], or simply to make use of a perfectly good hunk of meat that no longer happens to be a person with rights, depending on the culture in question.
45
46TruthInTelevision (including [[NatureIsNotNice nature red in tooth and claw]] -- according to Website/TheOtherWiki, more than 1500 species are known eaters of their own), and often so [[NightmareFuel disturbing]] we ask Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease [[noreallife]]
47----
48!!Related tropes:
49[[index]]
50* ArtificialCannibalism: The act of eating [[ArtificialMeat synthetic or simulated]] human meat.
51* {{Autocannibalism}}: The act of eating ''yourself''.
52* BlackComedyCannibalism: When the horrific act of cannibalism is [[BlackComedy treated as a sick joke]].
53* BrainFood: Eating brains, often a FleshEatingZombie's favorite body part.
54* CannibalClan: A family of cannibals.
55* CannibalismSuperpower: Someone [[PowerCopying takes on someone else's superpowers]] by eating them.
56* CannibalLarder: Where a cannibal keeps their "leftovers".
57* CannibalTribe: A group of people (not necessarily related to the same degree as CannibalClan) who eat other people.
58* CapturedByCannibals: When [[HollywoodNatives primitive tribesmen]] kidnap foreigners, they are in danger of being eaten by them.
59* ChildEater: Someone who eats young children.
60* ConsumingPassion: Devouring someone is treated as sexual or arousing, either by a character or implied by the work.
61* CookingTheLiveMeal: A cartoonish depiction of cannibalism in which the victim gets prepared as food alive.
62* DesecratingTheDead: Being a cannibal, by definition, is a form of desecrating their victims' bodies.
63* DevouredByTheHorde: Someone is eaten by a group of people, usually {{Flesh Eating Zombie}}s.
64* EatBrainForMemories: Memories are transferred through the consumption of brain tissue.
65* EatenAlive: Someone gets devoured while still alive.
66* EatingTheEnemy: If you can't beat them, ''just eat them!''
67* EatMe: Someone wants to be swallowed (whole) by a monster, so they can kill the beast from inside their belly.
68* EatsBabies: Carnivores with a specific preference for infants.
69* EatTheRich: The decadent, fattened upper class may be the perfect meal for a starving, rebellious lower class.
70* FamilialCannibalismSurprise: Tricking people into eating their own family members.
71* FatteningTheVictim: {{Force feeding}} someone or something until they've gotten plump enough to be cooked and eaten.
72* FedToPigs: Feeding a ([[DisposingOfABody usually dead]]) human body to domestic pigs.
73* FedToTheBeast: Serving up your enemies as a feast for a hungry animal or monster.
74* FleshEatingZombie: A [[OurZombiesAreDifferent walking corpse or corpse-like human]] that eats the flesh of the living.
75* FoodEatsYou: When {{anthropomorphic food}} decide to [[RussianReversal turn the tables]] on humans ''by trying to eat them''.
76* GodEating: When a mortal or god eats a divine being.
77* HighClassCannibal: A depraved upper class of cannibals, usually preying on [[KillThePoor society's undesirables]].
78* HorrorHunger: A character who's been [[DemonicPossession possessed by]] (or [[TheVirus transformed into]]) a monster begins to feel hungry for other people.
79* HumanResources: Getting resources from a person's body.
80* HungryMenace: Someone who eats people or eats from them.
81* InvitedAsDinner: A character is invited to dinner, and they end up ''being'' dinner.
82* ITasteDelicious: Getting turned into something edible, eating part of yourself, and declaring that you taste delicious.
83* LetsMeetTheMeat: When livestock animals actually ''demand'' to have their own kind eaten by people.
84* LifeDrinker: A predator that drains {{life energy}} from its prey.
85* LiteralManeater: A [[TheVamp sexually predatory female monster]] who seduces unwitting human men before eating them.
86* MonstrousCannibalism: A monster that eats other monsters of the same type.
87* NoPartyLikeADonnerParty: Cannibalism as a desperate measure against starvation.
88* NoZombieCannibals: [[InvertedTrope Alternatively]], predatory monsters (usually) have no desire to eat each other, [[ToServeMan only preying upon humans]].
89* OurGhoulsAreCreepier: Monsters that may or may not be [[TheUndead undead or corrupted humans]] and that feast on the flesh of humans, often specifically corpses.
90* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Blood-drinkers of all sorts, usually humans (or former humans) who feed on other people.
91* PickyPeopleEater: A cannibal is picky over what part of the human to eat.
92* SapientEatSapient: Two individuals of sapient (though not necessarily human) species are smart enough to be considered people. But one person wants to eat the other anyways.
93* TheSecretOfLongPorkPies: Someone cooks human meat as a secret ingredient in their food, and then serves it to unwitting guests.
94* SoulEating: Consuming people's souls rather than their physical bodies.
95* SpitOutAShoe: Spitting out an article of clothing to indicate someone was eaten.
96* StewedAlive: A character gets put into a cooking soup while still alive.
97* SupernaturallyDeliciousAndNutritious: Supernatural beings think someone tastes yummy.
98* ToServeMan: Predatory non-human creatures that prey on people.
99* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: The monster finds this person inedible and can't keep down their meal.
100* VampiricDraining: [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Certain kinds of monsters]] prefer to consume {{blood|y Tropes}} instead of flesh.
101* VoluntaryVampireVictim: Someone willingly acts as a living food source to regularly satisfy a monster's appetite.
102* {{Wendigo}}: [[Myth/NativeAmericanMythology According to Algonquin legends]], eating human flesh will cause you to turn into a man-eating monster.
103* WinterOfStarvation: Characters become desperate for food during the winter, and may be driven to doing immoral things to survive, including cannibalism.
104* YouAreWhoYouEat: Eating a person in order to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshift into them]].
105* YourBrainWontBeMuchOfAMeal: Zombies want to eat someone's brain, but it's unfit for them as that person is [[TheDitz too stupid]].
106[[/index]]
107----
108!!Example subpages:
109[[index]]
110* ImAHumanitarian/AnimeAndManga
111* ImAHumanitarian/ComicBooks
112* ImAHumanitarian/FairyTales
113* ImAHumanitarian/FanWorks
114* [[ImAHumanitarian/AnimatedFilms Films — Animated]]
115* [[ImAHumanitarian/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
116* ImAHumanitarian/{{Literature}}
117* ImAHumanitarian/LiveActionTV
118* ImAHumanitarian/{{Music}}
119* ImAHumanitarian/MusicVideos
120* ImAHumanitarian/{{Mythology}}
121* ImAHumanitarian/TabletopGames
122* ImAHumanitarian/VideoGames
123* ImAHumanitarian/WebOriginal
124* ImAHumanitarian/{{Webcomics}}
125* ImAHumanitarian/WesternAnimation
126* ImAHumanitarian/OtherMedia
127[[/index]]

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