Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History(66)
Except in rare cases, it appears that medicinal cannibalism is at worst a harmless placebo. But, if that’s true, then beyond our culturally imposed taboo, maybe there exists another reason why we don’t indulge in cannibalism on a more regular basis. Recalling that UNLV researchers found no mention of placentophagy in the 179 societies they examined, I wondered if perhaps these groups knew something that ritual cannibals, proponents of medicinal cannibalism, and modern placentophiles have missed.
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36 In a 2013 study conducted by researchers at UNLV, 198 women who had “ingested their placentas after the birth of at least one child” were surveyed: 93 percent were white, 91 percent were from the U.S., 90 percent were married, and 58 percent reported a household income of more than $50,000 per year.
37 Currently, there are 5 species of monotremes (4 echidnas and the platypus) and 334 species of marsupials. The latter are commonly referred to as “pouched mammals,” although a pouch, or marsupium, is not a requirement for entry to the marsupial club. What all marsupials do share is a short gestation period, after which the fetuslike newborn takes a precarious trip from the vaginal opening to a teat (usually found within the marsupium). Upon finding one, the tiny creature latches on for dear life, and continues what is essentially the remainder of its fetal development for additional weeks or even months.
38 The word umbilical is Latin for “navel” or “middle.” Blood from the umbilical cord is rich in stem cells and so it is sometimes collected and “banked,” to potentially be used down the road to treat a number of blood-related disorders, including leukemia and lymphoma.
39 I discounted unpublished reports that the male author of the voracious carnivore hypothesis was found choking on a disposable diaper.
40 Yes, rat babies are known as kittens (which should make dog lovers smile). The largest kitty litter I was able to uncover is 26—presumably a tough number for the 14 baby rats that couldn’t immediately latch on to a nipple.
41 A doula (from the Ancient Greek for “female servant”) is a non-medical person who assists the mother before, during, and after childbirth. After reportedly engaging in turf battles with medical personnel, some hospitals banned doulas while others started internal doula programs—presumably in an effort to reduce the number of birthing-room-related fistfights.
42 Mr. Duncan died about a week later, his case igniting a media-fanned fear fest reminiscent of the early days of the AIDS epidemic.
43 In May 2015, I learned that Claire had given birth to her 11th child (a son).
44 In a 1954 study, Czech researchers claimed that placenta consumption increased lactation in postpartum women having lactational difficulty (compared to a control group fed beef). According to Mark Kristal though, “This study does not conform to modern-day ideas about scientific methods or statistical analyses.” He noted that “the experiment was methodologically flawed” and that the hormones responsible for increased lactation would have been denatured in the preparation they described.
17: Cannibalism in the Pacific Islands
Nothing it seems to me is more difficult than to explain to a cannibal why he should give up human flesh. He immediately asks, “Why mustn’t I eat it?” And I have never yet been able to find an answer to that question beyond the somewhat unsatisfactory one, “Because you mustn’t.” However, though logically unconvincing, this reply, when backed by the presence of the police and by vague threats about the Government, is generally effective in a much shorter time than one could reasonably anticipate.
— J. H. P. Murray, Lt. Governor/Chief Judicial Officer, British New Guinea, 1912
In the spring of 1985, veterinarians working in the English counties of Sussex and Kent were puzzled when dairy farmers reported that a few of their cows were exhibiting some peculiar symptoms. The normally docile creatures were acting skittish and aggressive. They also exhibited abnormal posture, difficulty standing up and walking, and a general lack of coordination. Most of the cows were put down and sent on to rendering plants—facilities that process dead, often diseased animals into products like grease, tallow, and bone meal. It wasn’t until the following year that England’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food launched an investigation.
According to research biochemist Colm Kelleher, microscope slides were prepared from the brains of stricken cows and they showed the tissue to be riddled with holes, reminiscent of Swiss cheese. In what would become the first of many unfortunate decisions, the veterinary pathologists who examined the slides blamed the holes on faulty slide preparation. But by November of the following year, researchers knew that the abnormal spaces had once been filled with neurons that had shrunken and died. They also thought that amyloid plaques, the sticky concentrations of a normally non-sticky brain protein, might be a contributing factor to the neuron deaths. The holes and plaques were characteristic of a number of neurological diseases, with sheep scrapie and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) being the best known of these somewhat mysterious maladies. These and other diseases of their ilk were classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) because of the spongy appearance of infected brain tissue.45 The British researchers soon named their new disease Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). The press, of course, would need something a bit splashier. They settled on “Mad Cow Disease.”