In this setting, if you aren't prepared to eat others, you might as well

I kinda agree to be honest, the man and the son are delusional and not fit to survive in this world. Their philosophy carries no weight because there's no hope left, they're just desperately holding on to a concept that has no value or practicality anymore at the expense of their own survival and safety just to feel better about themselves.

I don't even understand how the man can still have his morals mostly intact after more than 10 years living in this hell and how he managed to survive that long, but I have my theory, to me it's pretty obvious that him and his family were very sheltered throughout the ordeal, they look more like witnesses of everything than happened, the mother know about the bandits, the rapes and the cannibalism, but they never endured it. They are always hungry, but we never saw them starving to the point of desperation.

Before everything they were upper class and educated, going to operas, owning horses, the Man knowing about scientifical terms and such.. So I'm thinking that while he's still kinda jaded and wary, he didn't had to go through half of what most people trying to survive had to, it's implied it's been years since they've last traveled before the mother gave up, and when she's having the baby in the flashback, they're well off and cosy with supplies and shelter.



One thing I found interesting, the first man we meet in the film, the long haired redneck going for a piss played by Dillahunt, is so far gone, that when he tries to appear friendly to the Man and his kid, he can't even sell it because his smile is twisted and predatory and the way he's looking at the boy you can just see the lust in his eyes, he can't act human anymore because he didn't had to for a very long time and probably forgot how to, and you'll notice he can spot right away that the Man was prey by the way he talks and the questions he asks, it's pretty telling to me that the Man had a way easier time than most, because by now he would be used to confrontations and would've intimidate the bandit into following him and proving he wasn't bluffing with his gun (even thought he wasn't, it still took the bandit to put a knife on his son's throat for him to pull the trigger, and he hesitated), instead of shaking and on the verge of tears like he was. He catch up later in the movie though.

This is why I think the person whom owned the food storage bunker killed themselves.

The food he/she had would have only lasted a little while after which they would need to break pretty much the darkest human taboos to survive. That's fine if you are prepared to do that for the simple fact to survive but it isn't if you are unable to override the social rules and morals you were born into.

Not that those whom ate other humans had much of a future anyway.

Two points. Cannibalism, long term, is toxic to your system. This has been proven, and a major reason tribes that practiced it went extinct. Secondly, without morality, history shows us that people would die out. If the only people left were cannibals, then eventually you would take your turn inside someone's digestive tract. Possibly your best friend's. It is slow suicide, and not a cure for sustaining the species.
Being willing to be a cannibal is weakness, not strength.

If things went that far south that quickly, the suicide rate must have been through the roof when folks realized food would not grow and cannibalism was spreading and about to become mainstream in survivors...but even that would not extend things that much longer, as far as the species goes. Still, there would bound to be some ultra-prepared preppers who defend or escape detection long enough to die off in the absence of modern medicine, until they commit suicide.

If the planet will not support any form of edible life, it would become empty of humans within a generation or so. Heck, 90% of the population was probably dead within 1 year from fighting, disease, and starvation. 99% within 2 years, slowly, slowly getting worse until the largest, most violent, cannibalistic ravagers turn on themselves for food. And the mega-preppers.