4 ms·

So my follow-on question is: is urban American culture's general squeamishness about our food sources a cause of or an effect of that distinction? Calling pig

So my follow-on question is: is urban American culture's general squeamishness about our food sources a cause of or an effect of that distinction? Calling pig meat pork, or cow meat beef, seems to separate the "yummy stuff" from the "used to walk and make cute noises stuff" in our minds. We don't seem to do it with poultry or seafood, just the mammals. I'm wondering if that was a culture-wide subconscious "decision" (I don't know the right term for that). It's similar to dehumanizing your enemies, in a way.

aroch 13y ago
Spurious correlation. Both pork and beef have been used in English (both American and British) for centuries. Both beef and pork refer to the meat from multiple subspecies while fish and poultry are considered game/sports meats and named for the animal 'bested'. You'll note many old recipes simply say "white fish" to denote cod, herring, haddock, pollock or any number of firm, white-fleshed fish. This custom persists today.