Channel 4 viewers were left repulsed last night by an unconventional programme featuring Gregg Wallace seemingly consuming human flesh. The satirical documentary, titled ‘Gregg Wallace: British Miracle Meat’, followed the contentious presenter as he explored a factory that produced ‘engineered human meat’ and tasted it for himself. Despite the programme being a parody, many viewers admitted to being fooled by it, with one Twitter user confessing that it made them physically ill.
However, the question remains: what does human flesh actually taste like? While cannibalism is universally condemned, some individuals have succumbed to their curiosity. MailOnline investigates the experiences of those who have dared to try it. In the 1920s, American adventurer William Buehler Seabrook embarked on a mission to document societies that engage in cannibalism. He even went as far as tasting human flesh himself when he encountered the Guero people in West Africa. Seabrook chronicled his experiences in his book ‘Jungle Ways’, published in 1931. According to Seabrook, raw human flesh resembled beef, but with a less vibrant red color and pale yellow fat. Once cooked, it turned gray and emitted a beef-like aroma. As for the taste, Seabrook wrote: “It was so similar to well-developed veal that I believe an average person with a discerning palate would not be able to distinguish it from veal.”
Many regard Seabrook’s account as dubious because he later admitted that the Guero tribesmen denied him the opportunity to participate in their tradition. To compensate for this disappointment, he claimed to have acquired a piece of flesh from a deceased hospital patient in France and cooked it on a spit. Despite skepticism regarding Seabrook’s reliability, his description remains valuable as most information on cannibalism comes from the mentally ill and tends to be contradictory.
Survivors of the 1972 Andes plane crash, who resorted to consuming their fellow passengers for survival, maintained that the frozen flesh was devoid of flavor. Nando Parrado, one of the survivors, recalled that the first piece he ate tasted like nothing. He forced himself to swallow it without guilt as it was a matter of survival. Russian killer Vladimir Nikolayevich Nikolayev, who consumed human flesh for the first time in 1997, described it as unappetizing and ended up frying it after disliking the taste when it was raw.
While scientifically rigorous studies on the taste of cooked human flesh are scarce due to the taboo nature of the subject, anecdotal accounts exist. German cannibal Armin Meiwes claimed that human flesh tasted like pork, but slightly more bitter and robust. Japanese cannibal Issei Sagawa likened it to tender and soft tuna that melted in his mouth like sushi. However, it is important to note that cannibalism carries significant health risks. Eating human flesh may result in contracting blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis or Ebola. Additionally, human flesh contains prions, which are abnormal proteins that can cause chain reactions of disease and potentially lead to death if they reach the brain. Unlike bacteria and fungi, prions are not eliminated by heat.
In conclusion, while human flesh may have been consumed throughout history for varied reasons, including cultural rituals or survival, it is universally condemned due to the associated health risks. Although some describe the taste as similar to veal or pork, it is crucial to prioritize ethical and legal considerations when discussing such a taboo subject.
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