Religious restrictions on the consumption of pork
The consumption of pork by humans is restricted by many worldwide religions. This restriction is most notable for featuring in Judaism and Samaritanism before being widely adopted in other Abrahamic religions, such as Islam, and consequently becoming prominent around the world. However, it is thought to be rooted in a stigma that was already present in the ancient Near East before the rise of the Israelites—pork was prohibited in parts of Syria and Phoenicia, and the pig represented a taboo observed at Comana in Pontus, as noted by the Greek historian Strabo. A lost poem of the Greek poet Hermesianax, reported centuries later by the Greek geographer Pausanias, described an etiological myth of Attis being 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."
In spite of the common religious stigma associated with pigs, pork remains the most consumed meat of any animal globally. With regard to Christianity, only certain sects that consider Jewish dietary laws to still be binding abstain from pork, including Seventh-day Adventists, Hebrew Roots, and Messianic Jews. Thus, the Christian-majority Western world is among the regions where pork consumption has historically been widespread, along with East Asia and parts of Southeast Asia.
In Jewish law
Israelite period
The Torah contains passages in the Book of Leviticus that list the animals that are permissible for human consumption. According to Leviticus 11:3, animals that have divided hooves and chew their cud—like cows, sheep, and deer—are kosher animals and may be consumed by following Jewish jurisprudence for animal slaughter. Pigs do not qualify for this status because, despite having the feet of a typical cud-chewing animal, they do not chew their cud. The ban on the consumption of pork is repeated in the Book of Deuteronomy. Thus, pig farming was largely absent in Israel and Judah. However, there is an exemption in Judaism on the basis of, which allows a Jew to break almost any Torah commandment without it counting as a sin if they find themselves in a life-threatening situation, namely starvation.Greco-Roman period
During the Roman period, abstinence from pork became one of the most identifiable features of the Jewish religion to outsiders. One example appears in Histories by the Roman historian Tacitus.Because Jewish dietary restrictions on pork were well-known to non-Jews, foreign attempts of oppression and assimilation of Jewish populations into Greco-Roman culture often involved attempting to force Jews into consuming pork. According to 2 Maccabees, the Seleucid emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to force Jews in his realm to consume pork as part of his attempted restrictions on the practice of Judaism. In addition, the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria records that during the Alexandrian anti-Jewish riots of 38, some Alexandrian mobs also attempted to force Jews into consuming pork. Some forms of Jewish Christianity also adopted these restrictions on the consumption of pork, as is noted in the early Christian treatise Didascalia Apostolorum.
In Islamic law
Permissibility
Islamic dietary laws concerning pigs are directly extracted from the Quran, in which pork is only rendered permissible for those Muslims who find themselves in an undesirable situation that compels them to consume it. For example, if a Muslim is physically forced, intimidated, or tricked by an oppressor into consuming pork, or if they voluntarily resort to consuming pork because they are facing starvation, then they are entirely free of the sin and will not be judged for it.Outside of emergencies, pork is haram and cannot be made halal by following Islamic jurisprudence for animal slaughter.
Quranic passages
There are several passages in the Quran that mention pork being forbidden for human consumption, while also declaring amnesty for those who consume it in exceptional circumstances.Arabian custom
According to the Roman historian Sozomen, some Arab polytheists in pre-Islamic Arabia who traced their ancestry to Ishmael abstained from consuming pork.Other religions
In Tyre, Phoenicia, it was forbidden for pork, women, and foreigners to be brought into the sanctuary of the temple of the deity Melqart. This restriction was attested during the Persian period.According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the Scythians had a taboo against the pig, which was never offered in sacrifice, and they apparently loathed so much as to even keep the animal within their lands.
A Scottish pork taboo purportedly existed until the 19th century, as discussed by the Scottish folklorist Donald Alexander Mackenzie. It was particularly prevalent among Highlanders, whom Mackenzie believed refrained from pork due to an ancient taboo. Several writers who confirm that there was a prejudice against pork consumption, or a generally superstitious attitude toward pigs, do not see it in terms of a taboo related to an ancient cult.
Analyses of pork taboos
The American anthropologist Marvin Harris, specializing in cultural materialism, thought that the main reason for prohibiting consumption of pork was ecological and economical. Pigs require water and shady woods with seeds, but such conditions are scarce in the Near East. Unlike many other animals that are kept as livestock, pigs are not herbivores—they are omnivores and are also known for scavenging, which may have contributed to their reputation of ritual uncleanliness. Furthermore, a Near Eastern society keeping large stocks of pigs could destroy their ecosystem.It is speculated that chickens supplanted pigs as a more portable and efficient source of meat, and these practical concerns led to the religious restrictions.
Medieval French rabbi Rashi wrote in his commentary on the Hebrew Bible and Talmud that the prohibition of pork as a Jewish dietary law that would be derided by others as making no sense. Rabbi and polymath Maimonides interpreted the common dietary laws chiefly as a means of keeping the body healthy in his Guide for the Perplexed. He argued that the meat of the forbidden animals, birds, and fish is unwholesome and indigestible. He said this does not seem to apply to pork since it does not appear to be harmful at first glance, however, since the pig is a filthy animal, using them for food would make marketplaces and houses dirtier than latrines.
The Sefer HaChinuch gives a general overview of the Jewish dietary laws. The anonymous Levite writes "And if there are any reasons for the dietary laws which are unknown to us or those knowledgeable in the health field, do not wonder about them, for the true Healer that warns us against them is smarter than us, and smarter than the doctors."