Cannibalism illegal in law??

[Dom Tuk]

Is cannibalism an offence in the UK . Remember the programme where Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and friends ate human placenta. Does that make them cannibals and if it is illegal could they have been arrested for the offence.?

[andy hughes]

Cannibalism is illegal in law, but bizarrely, eating a human placenta is not considered to be an act of canibalism. In a number of countries, the placenta is considered to be nutritious, and mothers are encouraged to eat their placenta after birth - although this is probably more common practice in countries where nutritional food is far scarcer than here.

Obviously the act could not have been shown on TV if it was illegal, so no law was broken, although Channel 4 were severely censured for cvasuing offence to the viewing public.

I think you would have to question the wisdom and motive of any mother who wants to a) eat her own afterbirth, and b) do it on TV, and c) invite friends round to join in!

I saw the placenta after the birth of our last child, and if anyone had suggested it being fried and eaten, I would have vomited on the spot, and then passed out!

Oh, and the name of the child who was responsible for the basic ingredients of this little repast? Lindi-Mo. I'll leave that with you.

[ursula62]

When I was a student nurse in the 80s, we were told about this practice and how it was very common in Germany.  Apparently it tastes like liver when cooked (yuk!)

Placentas are inspected by the midwife after birth, to look for any defects in the arteries and veins, which could indicate problems with the baby. If all is well, it can be offered to the mother, although I don't know how common that is these days.

Placentas are often sold by hospitals to cosmetics manufacturers as placental extracts are used in some face creams.

[Glossopswift]

Keep the placenta. They are far less trouble than kids.

[jenstar]

As far as I know, the actual act of cannibalism itself is not illegal (unless they've made it so in the last couple of years). However, obtaining the flesh to eat may be difficult to do legally.