Flime RestaurantTaking a cue from the PETA handbook of grossing people out to make a point: The German Vegetarian Society recently promoted a cannibalistic restaurant in Germany -- Flime.

Yes, one that served up human flesh.

They set up a website for the restaurant and ran a campaign in German newspapers seeking donations for various body parts -- even setting up a bid on eBay for human liver pate.

They advertised for an "open-minded surgeon" and said their inspiration came from the Brazilian Waricaca tribe.

"We see feasting as a spiritual act, in which the spirit and strength of the consumed creature is given to the guests," the website stated.

On the day the restaurant was set to open, organizers announced it was a hoax designed to make a point about how awful it is to eat meat.

Thank heavens, but what an awful, disturbing way to make a point.

"The more severe the reactions to the Flimé have been, the better," the site currently sates. "Speaking of shocking issues such as cannibalism, the outcry is big. But nobody poses the question where meat, which is consumed daily, comes from, under which circumstances it is produced, and what consequences it has on our environment."

Got it, but besides grossing people out and creating some headlines, are people really going to change their diets because of it?

Personally, it almost makes me want to go out and bite into a burger just to spite them for making my stomach turn so violently.

And frankly with all the crazy people out there, they're pretty lucky no one took them too seriously and started generating body parts.

Remember Jeffrey Dahmer?

PETA already used the whole cannibal angle when he and his serial-killing, people-eating escapades were making waves in the early 1990s. The group ran a series of ads that basically compared meat-eaters to Dahmer. And they've done countless other shocking -- and often tasteless -- stunts as well in the years since.

I'm all for the ethical treatment of animals, but I long ago wrote PETA off as a group of extremists and find myself completely tuning out any message they try to promote. Feeling passionate for a cause is great, but tasteless shock tactics like these are just disturbing and insulting.

Of course, if it's just the publicity they want, then I guess their tactics are working ... as evidenced by this article.

Do shock tactics like this make you think about changing your behavior or just annoy and offend you?


Image via flime-restaurante.com