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They may be a sentient race, but they are also hoofed vegetarian-ish (as best I can tell) creatures with several subspecies like some animals we eat in real life. So i'd like to know how heretical it'd be, how safe if it were to happen (after them shooting at us) and also what you think.

I guess it depends on how they taste

About as weird as eating anything sapient, I guess. I mean, human flesh supposedly tastes a lot like pork. Cannibalism isn't unnerving because of the taste or even the gore associated with it in horror movies (the latter can be dealt with the same way the gore involved in making a hamburger is avoided). It's unnerving because of the societal taboo that stems, at least in part, from eating something that you could consider to be a "person."

As for heresy levels? Probably very heretical. You're taking something alien and making it a part of yourself; corrupting the blessed form exalted by the Emperor himself.

Warhammer humans eat xenos all the time. They also eat human corpses that are recicled into food paste, specially in hive worlds.

So eating the corpse of a sentient xeno can't really be that bad.

Grox aren't Terran natives either.

Space Marines do it to absorb the knowledge of their fallen foes. Could easily see Guardsmen adopting the tradition. I don't think Commissars would have an issue, they'd probably want to spread the word to the Tau actually to strike fear into their hearts. "Remember what happened when we captured your fellows? We literally carved them up and ate them".

As long as it's not highly ritualized, cult-like behavior, I don't think most imperial authorities would have an issue with eating non-human edible xenos.

I vaguely remember eating...

It certainly wouldn't qualify as cannibalism. And given that cannibalism is, at least indirectly via nutrient recyclers, practiced at some level in places in the Imperium it can't be heretical.

Now certain aliens might be more problematic to consume than others. Tau, Eldar, and other 'normal' species are probably "ok". Orks would probably be a no-no, if only because of the spores. And they probably taste terrible. Anything chaos corrupted would be definite heresy.

Given the massive variety of cultures that the Imperium encompasses, I'm sure there are quite a few that endorse cannibalism in some form. Perhaps a feral world just sees it as a fact of life. Maybe its part of their version of the Imperial Cult, derived from their primitive religious practices. The Imperial Cult tolerates Death Cults who engage in orgies of violence and slaughter for the Emperor, some mild cannibalism is nothing next to that and might be included in such.
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This reminds me of that great twitter discussion about whether Porgs would be kosher....

Interesting question. I wonder would people still have a low key resistance to the idea of having something humanoid? For some reason, Hive dwellers eating soylent green or whatever feels like an easier sell than Tau steaks.

I'm thinking that Orks, who are essentially giant mushrooms would taste delicious sauteed with some onions and herbs.

Carlovonsexron wrote:
I'm thinking that Orks, who are essentially giant mushrooms would taste delicious sauteed with some onions and herbs.

Yeah orks and Nids are fine to eat as long as you cook it right. Nids especially, they are a shell fish, not a boney fish. So no hive tyrant sushi.

The Imperium doesn’t have that many rules. Pay your taxes, and don’t worship any gods but the Emperor. The rest is bureaucratic details. For the most part, individual planets are left to their own devices.

One thing about cannibalism is how it’s defined. Is it eating your own species, or anything sentient? I’ve seen this argument crop up in a lot of RPGs, both fantasy/sci-fi. It’s not one we deal with IRL, as the only sentient species is our own. Although there is some squick factor over eating close relatives like monkeys, or “pet” animals.

Either way, seeing that corpse-starch rations are a thing in 40k, I think most xenos would just be meat for the grinder if the need and nutrients were there.

Well, the Regimental Standard endorsed eating Ambull and your own boots. Don't see anything wrong with T'au.

Karmasixx wrote:
They may be a sentient race, but they are also hoofed vegetarian-ish (as best I can tell) creatures with several subspecies like some animals we eat in real life. So i'd like to know how heretical it'd be, how safe if it were to happen (after them shooting at us) and also what you think.

I would be heretical if you enjoy it. As long as you hate the taste everything should be ok.

Captain Azra of the Deathwatch, and the rest of his Kill Team, say Tau are delicious. Or at least if they aren't, those Tau pilots knew how to fly their airplanes, and that's what counted.

Eating people is not, but eating gue'la is because they gave up the right to be considered a person after they turned from the Emperor's Light.


Space marines have an organ specifically for learning how to do things from eating a pound of enemy flesh, so I can assume that eating them is OK.