clipped from americandigest.org

Ah, what would we do without science to keep us on the moral path?

“When to care for, abandon, or eat your offspring: the evolution of parental care and filial cannibalism,”

....highlights the potential importance of a range of factors in the evolution of filial cannibalism using a mathematical model of analysis. It is potentially affected by the ability to selectively consume lower quality offspring, preferences associated with mate choice, density-mediated survival, and population dynamics. Professor Michael Bonsall, a Royal Society Research Fellow and University Lecturer in Mathematical Biology at Oxford University, said: ‘This sort of behaviour - cannibalising your offspring - is widespread amongst different animal groups. We show that there is not a single benefit to eating your offspring, and it depends on several factors and explanations.'

Unless, of course, you are stranded with a kindergarten class on a desert island in Colorado after global warming kicks in.