Why do certain cultures make certain food taboo to eat or prohibited?

Question

Like Jews and Muslims cannot eat shrimp because he is a bottom feeder, pigs because they are dirty and have weird feet, can you give some examples. I know Ethiopians cannot eat this animals for the same reasons, but they Oriental Orthodox Christians.

Answer 1

TO understand the reason, you must understand when the law was made. For example, for lent, if you look at it, the time of the year lent happens is during the spring when animals give birth or mated. This was made to keep people from eating future stock, but fish was plentifull during the old age, so fish was allowed. For other animals like Cat fish and shrimp is because they were bottom feeders, meaning that they ate poo, and this could make people ill, also with the pig he ate everything, so he could have diseases, as cows and lamb only eat grass and other foods that do not carry diseases most of the time. Meaning that anything that is taboo to eat has a meaning behind it.

Answer 2

I think the prohibition of eating pork most likely came from the fact that you can get trichinosis if it's not cooked properly. For a very long time, Catholics could not eat meat on Fridays, and are still forbidden to eat meat on Fridays during Lent. Much of this is just a way for the followers to prove something, like they're making a sacrifice for god, since the human sacrifice stuff isn't allowed. Well, unless you count Jesus, that is.

Answer 3

They are irrational. Also, making rules which supposedly come from God (and eternal punishment if you don't listen!) is a way for bad people to control other people who are weak or foolish. It's like a 7 year old telling a younger sibling Daddy will be really mad unless he hands over the candy.

Answer 4

It is an easy way to identify insiders from outsiders. Make something taboo and then only really dirty people partake in it.

Oh and its pretty much a myth that it is do to hygiene requirements. Having said that I have no doubt some religious leader ate a dodgy prawn one day then banned their consumption on religious grounds.

Answer 5

We try to steer clear of actions forbidden by Scripture, of course, but sometimes Scripture is silent. Then we should follow our consciences. “If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning” means that to go against a conviction will leave a person with a guilty or uneasy conscience. When God shows us that something is wrong for us, we should avoid it. But we should not look down on other Christians who exercise their freedom in those areas.

Answer 6

G-d gave no reasons for telling us not to eat certain foods. It is not because pigs or shellfish "are dirty".... there are NO reasons given- we're just supposed to do it because it was written.

Answer 7

Most of the food prohibition came from a day when they made sense medically and technologically.

Answer 8

practicality.