can cannibals be chaotic neutral?
Don't see why not- long pig isn't exclusive provender of the Evil, after all.
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I think that the more unusual part of a cannibal being Chaotic neutral is being chaotic rather than neutral, just because many primitive societies that practice cannibalism can't give themselves over entirely to chaos (You can eat Uncle Billy when he dies, but you can't kill him just so you can eat him)
See LizardFolk pg 195 in the bestiary for an example of Neutral cannibals
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I supposed you'd have to ask a few more questions:
Some cannibals eat the bodies of their deceased relatives, to absorb their spirits into the living members of the family.
Some cannibals eat members of their tribe, for the same reason.
Some cannibals eat the bodies of vanquished enemies, to gain their strength/power.
Some cannibals raid the surrounding villages and take prisoners to bring back to their village to eat.
The first two examples don't strike me as evil, and even the third example might only rate Neutral.
The fourth example would definitely qualify as evil.
I'm getting flashbacks of the Red Dwarf episode Timeslides.
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can cannibals be chaotic neutral?
Even Cannibals would have would have rules about how you treat your food..."We thank you for this sacrifice...". Tribalism is about Laws.
Tribal based Cannibalism: Lawful Evil, Neutral-everything is food its all about survival, Lawful Neutral, neutral Evil.
Serial Killer Canibalism: Chaotic Evil
Chaotic Neutral: Borderline between Tribal Canibalism and Serial Killer.
Is he lawful if he uses a knife and fork?
With apologies to Stanislaw LEM...
As for the CN question, I'd say yes, but his reasons and the means that he uses to obtain his meals is probably first and foremost. If he's deliberately hunting down people/sentient beings to use as food or for fun, then he's probably a bit more evil. If they're dead anyways, he could just be using the resources wisely, but anytime you're dealing with the life, death and remains of sentient beings, you're walking a line.
Heck, I'd even say that a CG could if he doesn't kill for solely that purpose, and the act is an honoring one, that he sees and genuinely believes it is an important part of the dignity and respect of vanquished foes or fallen allies, though it would be a fine line, and then only for a 'savage' character.
Then again, how do you define cannibalism? Is it cannibalism if a human eats a kenku? How about a halfling eating an elf? It can be a black and white or a very gray issue, depending on the campaign.
Also, for another interesting example of D&D cannibals, check out the halflings and thri-kreen in the Dark Sun world. Some of my favorite PC cannibal races.
Also, Dark Sun is a good example of how it can be a socially relative issue. It wasn't necessarily seen as 'evil' (even if they hunted down their dinners) because those races believed themselves separate from the others (and not even superior), and because the world itself was a very brutal place.
Aw, heck, even the Ewoks were almost 'cannibals' :)
On the other hand, the Suel tribesmen from the Greyhawk setting were evil as well as cannibals, even though they saw themselves as separate. But were they evil BECAUSE they were cannibals, cannibals because they were evil, or is it just an (un)happy coincidence?
Probably another example of how alignment is an odd fit.