"stop cannibalising people"
uuuhm, I'm literally neurodivergent and a minor??

@N33R minor? #Unfollowed

@sierra I'm very mature for my age!

@N33R I don't think that's even true

@N33R So long as they consented or justified it, it's fine (probably bad for your health though).

@lispi314 thats the kind of prejudices I'm talking about
its NOT bad for your health
you only get diseases from eating the brain and even then only if the person you're eating had them
more people got prion disease from beef in the uk in the 80s and 90s than ever did from cannibalism!

@lispi314 @N33R anti-cannibalism propaganda

@N33R @lispi314 people think the dangers of prion disease are from eating human meat in general for some reason instead of it being a risk factor informed by old age and the cannibalistic habits of the person you're eating/culture at large. the original discovery of prion disease in humans came from rituals involving eating portions of the dead, but it only spread because one individual developed prion disease, which then passed on to people that ate their brains and killed them, and then the cycle repeated. humans don't just randomly spawn prions when they die or their flesh gets severed.

@N33R All humans have a risk of misfolding proteins & recreating prions and the body doesn't always manage to eliminate the issue (yes, this is supposed to be implicitly terrifying).

That does not occur exclusively in the brain or nervous system either. It just has a higher concentration due to various mechanisms.

Heavy metal poisoning for things like chromium, lead and mercury are also a risk as human bioaccumulate them.

@silicasandwhich @N33R My other comment goes into that.

Also, humans are not unique in developing prions and sometimes the particular variant is infectious for humans too (this has been a problem with deer and beef).

humans don't just randomly spawn prions when they die or their flesh gets severed.

No, it's a problem that happens in living humans. Misfolding proteins. It's a bit similar to cancer in that it's a normal metabolic process going haywire, but it otherwise involves different mechanisms.

@lispi314 @N33R there may have been some miscommunication on my part. my point was that the danger of getting prion disease from humans comes from eating someone that had prion disease, not from the fact that you're eating a human at all. as you point out, this can also be an issue in beef consumption and other meats (as is bioaccumulation, which contributes to why it's generally a good idea for your health to reduce meat and fish consumption)

@silicasandwhich @N33R

which contributes to why it's generally a good idea for your health to reduce meat and fish consumption

A somewhat related fun fact, this is (part of) the nuance in risk between wild/hunted deer meat and commercial herds.

There is (at least in some countries) specific attention paid to this hazard and its early-ish detection to mitigate losses to cullings upon detection (and liability).