4 ms·

I just want to throw out there that dietary restrictions are ultimately tribal. Kosher and halal laws are full of obscure and pointless restrictions (such as ri

I just want to throw out there that dietary restrictions are ultimately tribal. Kosher and halal laws are full of obscure and pointless restrictions (such as ritual slaughter and prohibition on eating foods prepared under an idol) that have nothing to do with health, but everything to do with establishing who is "us" and who is "them".

jwdunne 10y ago
Interesting. I didn't know that. I connected trichinosis, where symptoms are flu-like for the first few days before a fortnight to 8 weeks of symptom-free incubation as it works into the muscle stage, with the fact that germ theory wasn't understood back then. The second stage of trichinosis would look quite out of the blue without the foundation of understanding behind it. Almost as if by an act of god, which may have been connected to eating "unclean food prohibited by god". That said, if it is genuinely a tribal practice, I must accept that and change my opinion.
- stinkytaco 10y ago
  You're not wrong, but the pork is only a small part of dietary laws. Additionally, you can eat other animals that might be dangerous (birds, for instance, but not birds of prey). And restrictions like "only cloven hoofed animals that chew their cud" are just "let's make this obscure enough to prove you really care."
  - jwdunne 10y ago
    I guess you're right. It'd be interesting to see if those laws developed gradually over time or was by total decree. Perhaps some of the rules are merely incorrect generalisations / reasoning by induction. Thanks for the info - I've always wondered why. It's quite hard to find the why when learning about these things.
FabHK 10y ago
Good point, to enforce in-group, out-group. There is the evolutionary psychology notion that food preferences are initially wide open: children initially eat everything they're given, basically trusting their parents, but then later those preferences solidify (German proverb: "Was der Bauer nicht kennt, frisst er nicht", i.e. what the farmer doesn't know, he doesn't eat). So, that would make dietary rules particularly suited as such a tribal shibboleth (easy to create, relatively easy to abide by, hard to fake). I seem to recall that after the Spanish reconquista, muslims faced conversion or expulsion, and if they chose conversion, they were forced to eat pork to "prove" it... [Edit: eco-psych -> evolutionary psychology)

jwdunne 10y ago

Interesting. I didn't know that. I connected trichinosis, where symptoms are flu-like for the first few days before a fortnight to 8 weeks of symptom-free incubation as it works into the muscle stage, with the fact that germ theory wasn't understood back then. The second stage of trichinosis would look quite out of the blue without the foundation of understanding behind it. Almost as if by an act of god, which may have been connected to eating "unclean food prohibited by god". That said, if it is genuinely a tribal practice, I must accept that and change my opinion.

stinkytaco 10y ago
You're not wrong, but the pork is only a small part of dietary laws. Additionally, you can eat other animals that might be dangerous (birds, for instance, but not birds of prey). And restrictions like "only cloven hoofed animals that chew their cud" are just "let's make this obscure enough to prove you really care."
- jwdunne 10y ago
  I guess you're right. It'd be interesting to see if those laws developed gradually over time or was by total decree. Perhaps some of the rules are merely incorrect generalisations / reasoning by induction. Thanks for the info - I've always wondered why. It's quite hard to find the why when learning about these things.

FabHK 10y ago

Good point, to enforce in-group, out-group. There is the evolutionary psychology notion that food preferences are initially wide open: children initially eat everything they're given, basically trusting their parents, but then later those preferences solidify (German proverb: "Was der Bauer nicht kennt, frisst er nicht", i.e. what the farmer doesn't know, he doesn't eat). So, that would make dietary rules particularly suited as such a tribal shibboleth (easy to create, relatively easy to abide by, hard to fake). I seem to recall that after the Spanish reconquista, muslims faced conversion or expulsion, and if they chose conversion, they were forced to eat pork to "prove" it... [Edit: eco-psych -> evolutionary psychology)