Food and drink prohibitions

This article is about practices and beliefs in relation to various food and potential foods. For more discussion on religious views, see Unclean animal.

Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the meat of a particular animal, including mammals, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, fish, molluscs, crustaceans and insects, which may relate to a disgust response being more often associated with meats than plant-based foods.[1] Some prohibitions are specific to a particular part or excretion of an animal, while others forgo the consumption of plants or fungi.

Some food prohibitions can be defined as rules, codified by religion or otherwise, about which foods, or combinations of foods, may not be eaten and how animals are to be slaughtered or prepared. The origins of these prohibitions are varied. In some cases, they are thought to be a result of health considerations or other practical reasons;[2] in others, they relate to human symbolic systems.[3]

Some foods may be prohibited during certain religious periods (e.g., Lent), at certain stages of life (e.g., pregnancy), or to certain classes of people (e.g., priests), even if the food is otherwise permitted. On a comparative basis, what may be declared unfit for one group may be perfectly acceptable to another within the same culture or across different cultures. Food taboos usually seem to be intended to protect the human individual from harm, spiritually or physically, but there are numerous other reasons given within cultures for their existence. An ecological or medical background is apparent in many, including some that are seen as religious or spiritual in origin. Food taboos can help utilizing a resource,[citation needed] but when applied to only a subsection of the community, a food taboo can also lead to the monopolization of a food item by those exempted. A food taboo acknowledged by a particular group or tribe as part of their ways, aids in the cohesion of the group, helps that particular group to stand out and maintain its identity in the face of others and therefore creates a feeling of "belonging".[4]

  1. ^ Paul Rozin, "Social and Moral Aspects of Food and Eating", In: Rock, I. (ed.), The Legacy of Solomon Asch: Essays in Cognition and Social Psychology, New York: Psychology Press. Chapter 6.
  2. ^ Harris, Marvin, Good to Eat, ISBN 0-04-306002-1
  3. ^ Douglas, Mary, Purity and Danger, ISBN 0-415-28995-5
  4. ^ Meyer-Rochow, Victor Benno (2009). "Food taboos: their origins and purposes". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 5 (18): 18. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-5-18. PMC 2711054. PMID 19563636.