Cannibalism is the act of eating human flesh, and this is taboo in most areas of the world and in modern civilization. Cannibalism has been practiced in the past for many reasons, and these include spirituality, a lack of other food sources, and even the belief that eating another person will imbue the cannibal with all of the desired properties of the individual being consumed. This term may also refer to any species which eats its own kind, not just human beings.