Millions of humans doomed to become CANNIBALS as drought and famine sweep the world, expert warns

OVERCROWDING and drought could see humans turn cannibalism on an epic scale, according to a top historian.

Famine and overpopulation in the poorest countries in the world could spark a new era of humans feasting on each other, claimed biology professor and research associate at the American Natural Museum of History, Bill Schutt.

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"How much of a surprise would it be if the butchery of humans for food becomes commonplace in drought-ridden and overpopulated regions of the near-future Earth?" he wrote in a book called

"In a world where global climate change is taking place before our very eyes, there may be little to prevent famine-related cannibalism from happening again, especially in the poorest and most unstable countries in the world.

Scientists have long written off cannibalism as a rare phenomenon and it was seen as simply a desperate response in life-threatening scenarios.

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But Schutt believes cannibalism may be an evolutionary trait that is ingrained in humanity, similarly to animals.

There are several modern cases of cannibalism in the western world.

American pioneers, the Donner Party, famously became cannibals and ate each other's flesh before they were rescued at the turn of the 20th century.

Other cases include the city of Stalingrad takeover during WWII and the Andes flight disaster in 1972.

The Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed into the Andes on October 13 1972 while carrying 45 people, including a rugby union team, their friends and family.

With little food and after hearing news reports that the search for survivors had been abandoned over a radio, they were left with no option than to eat the bodies of the 12 who had been killed in the crash.

The survivors were picked up 72 days later.

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