>Psst. The real reason we don't treat people like we do horses and
>cows is because of a very strong social taboo, not any kind of
>rational argument. Don't tell anyone.
The social taboo has a rational origin though. Eating people tends to spread disease. You don't want to eat things that might have infectious organisms that can infect you and obviously if you eat humans then every disease they might have can infect you. So cultures that have developed such taboos tend to do better than cultures that continue to eat each other.
Some time ago I killed a cat that was coming around bothering my pets. My family was horrified when I threw it to the ferrets to eat afterwards. Actually I was a bit dubious about it too, cats are such filthy toxic creatures. I always wear gloves when touching them. I certainly wouldn't entertain the idea of eating one myself. I decided it was best not to feed them to my ferrets from now. A waste, but I just have to accept that there is no use whatsoever for a dead cat.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas