Grasshoppers, Cannibalism and War (OH MY!)

Greetings! I have been working on two different writing projects. The first is a short piece/chapter that begins the cannibalism theme I am hoping to build in my book. I am researching cannibalism in a book by Peggy Reeves Sanday, titled Divine Hunger: Cannibalism as a Cultural System, which is a highly researched sociological approach that views cannibalism as a cultural ritual having nothing to do with physical hunger but, instead, used in different societies as a part of retaining social order through rules, fertility and myth. Interestingly, Sanday argues that cannibalism did exist in cultures, such as the ancient Aztecs, who did not suffer from hunger, but cannibalism did not exist in other societies that did struggle with famine.
The research is helping me develop a strong base so that I can stretch the metaphor in my book. Sanday’s notes and bibliography section is nearly as large as the body text and will hone my further research to the specific ideas I am attempting to convey, suh as cannibalism as a tool of sexual power evident in both male/female and male/male relationships as written extensively by Fitz John Porter Poole (as suggested by Sanday's bib and notes).
Additionally, I have been watching The History Channel's “Gangland.” The series has underscored my connection between the military and cannibalism, as large inner-city gangs have militant structures, recruiting practices, and are fed with concepts common to the military. Even more disturbing is the admission by former gang members that they refer to their victims as “food,” which connects my idea of cannibalism and war.
There are two other books that I am reading in doses: The Art of the Personal Essay and War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning. Joan Didion’s “Goodbye to All That” has sparked a personal essay that I have been writing in my head since Laurie Alberts’ lecture “Animals in Literary Prose.” During Albert’s lecture, I gave a description about torching a grasshopper. After I read my brief, hastily written piece, Alberts instructed that what people share about animals says a lot about their character, and she’s right, so I am exploring the reasons I torched a grasshopper one night, outside of the fact that they gross me out, based on innocence lost (an attempt at something like Diddon’s, I hope). I must add a disclaimer: I do not make a habit of torching anything, just one night, one hapless grasshopper, one disillusioned girl.
Now, I am having fun researching grasshoppers in my spare time, so that in my personal essay, knowledge of self follows knowledge of the insect, maybe like the obsessive cataloguing in Moby Dick, but on a smaller scale. I don’t know! I am just playing with this for now, but it is something that won’t go away. Maybe once I get it out of my head I can concentrate on my chapter. Ha Ha. I have read the first chapter of War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning, by Chris Hedges. It is amazing! This book is helping me to understand what I want to articulate regarding war's myths, attractions, and results. I love this sentence: "...the lie in war is almost always the lie of omission" (22).
Hope all is well with everyone!
~C