Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork

Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork are a tradition in the Ancient Near East. Swine were prohibited in ancient Syria and Phoenicia, and the pig and its flesh represented a taboo observed, Strabo noted, at Comana in Pontus A lost poem of Hermesianax, reported centuries later by the traveller Pausanias, reported an etiological myth of Attis destroyed by a supernatural boar to account for the fact that "in consequence of these events the Galatians who inhabit Pessinous do not touch pork.

Such restrictions exist in Jewish dietary laws (Kashrut), in Christian dietary laws, and in Muslim dietary laws (Halal). It originates first from the laws of the Hebrew Bible, and later reinforced for the Muslims in the Quran.^{[citation needed]}

Also among Christians, Seventh-day Adventists consider pork taboo, along with other foods forbidden by Jewish law. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church also discourages pork consumption.

Prohibitions in the Old Testament

Leviticus 11:7-8

And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he [is] unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they [are] unclean to you.

Deuteronomy 14:8

And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it [is] unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.

Prohibition of pork consumption in Jewish law

According to Jewish law, pork is one of a number of foods forbidden from consumption by Jews. These foods are known as "non-kosher" foods. In order for a meat to be kosher, it must first come from a kosher animal. A kosher animal must be a ruminant and have split hooves - therefore cows, sheep, goats and deer are all kosher, whereas camels and pigs (having each only one sign of kashrut) are not kosher.

The pig is the only common livestock animal that has split hooves but which is not a ruminant - its external aspect makes it appear kosher, while it is not.^{[citation needed]}

During the persecutions of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Greeks forced the Jews to slaughter pigs in the Jerusalem temple, which did not improve the image of pork. Moreover, the Roman legion X Fretensis, that undertook the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 68, had a boar for an emblem, sealing its fate as a symbol of everything contrary to Judaism.^{[citation needed]}

Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher and legal codifier, who was also court physician to the Muslim sultan Saladin in the twelfth century, understands the dietary laws chiefly as a means of keeping the body healthy. He argued that the meat of the forbidden animals, birds, and fish is unwholesome and indigestible. According to Maimonides, at first glance, this does not apply to pork, which does not appear to be harmful. Yet, Maimonides observes, the pig is a filthy animal and if swine were used for food, marketplaces and even houses would be dirtier than latrines.

The cultural materialistic anthropologist Marvin Harris thinks that the main reason for prohibiting consumption of pork was ecological-economical. Pigs require water and shady woods with seeds, but those conditions are scarce in Israel and the Middle East. They cannot forage grass like ruminants. Instead, they compete with humans for expensive grain. Unlike many other forms of livestock, pigs are omnivorous scavengers, eating virtually anything they come across, including carrion and refuse. This was deemed unclean, hence a Middle Eastern society keeping large stocks of pigs would destroy their ecosystem. Harris points out how, while the Hebrews are also forbidden to eat camels and fish without scales, Arab nomads couldn't afford to starve in the desert whilst having camels around.^{[citation needed]}

Some food psychologists point out the similarity between the Mosaic food laws as laid out in Leviticus and the natural 'disgust' reaction that all people generally show to unfamiliar meats (see the work of Paul Rozin). That suggests that the food taboos were a codification of existing practice rather than the imposition of a new rule, an attempt to give a religious explanation for an existing state of affairs in which the early Israelites did not eat pork etc. while other groups they knew did.^{[citation needed]}

Prohibition of pork consumption in Islamic law

One example of verses from the Qur'an on pig consumption:

The Quran 16:116

He has made unlawful for you only that which dies of itself and blood and the flesh of swine and that on which the name of any other than Allah has been invoked. But he who is driven by necessity, being neither disobedient nor exceeding the limit, then surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.

The Quran 2:174

He has made unlawful to you only that which dies of itself, and blood and the flesh of swine, and that on which the name of any other than Allah has been invoked. But he who is driven by necessity, being neither disobedient nor exceeding the limit, it shall be no sin for him. Surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.

Archaeological significance of Islamic prohibition of pork consumption

The relevance of the pork taboo for archaeologists is that the teeth of cooked pigs are highly resistant to biodegradation. This facilitates the pinpointing of the moment at which Islam took hold, for example, at points along the Indonesian archipelago. Plentiful pig's teeth are found in digs of pre-Islamic settlements. Pigs' teeth disappear from the traces as soon as Islam is adopted.^{[citation needed]} See Maluku for an example.

See also

• Pig
• Domestic pig
• Pork
• Taboo food and drink
• Muslim dietary laws
• Scottish pork taboo

External links

• Verse 174 of Chapter 2 (Al-Baqarah) in The Holy Quran prohibiting 'the blood and flesh of swine'
• Laws of Judaism and Islam concerning food
• Globe and Mail article Canada's transgenic Enviropig is stuck in a genetic modification poke