Why Is Pork Forbidden?

Go to bit.ly/noom_religion and take your free 30-second quiz! Thank you #noom for sponsoring today’s video!
Join our Patreon community!: / religionforbreakfast
One-time donations here!: www.paypal.me/religionforbrea...
Check out my favorite religious studies books by following this affiliate link to my Amazon page: www.amazon.com/shop/religionf...
Credits:
Executive Producers: Daniel Cuevas, Maritza
Co-Writers: Bailey Benson and Andrew Henry
Editor: Mark Henry
Bibliography
Hesse, B. and Wapnish, P. 1997. Can Pig Remains Be Used for Ethnic Diagnosis in the Ancient Near East? In The Archaeology of Israel: Constructing the Past, Interpreting the Present, edited by N.A. Silberman and D.B. Small, pp. 238-270.
Hesse, B. and Wapnish, P. 1998.Pig Use and Abuse in the Ancient Levant: Ethnoreligious Boundary-Building and Swine. In Ancestors for the Pigs, edited by S. Nelson, pp. 123-135.
Price, M.D. 2021. Evolution of a Taboo: Pigs and People in the Ancient Near East. Oxford.
Sapir-Hen, L., Bar-Oz, G., Gadot, Y., and Finkelstein, I. 2013. Pig Husbandry in Iron Age Israel and Judah: New Insights Regarding the Origin of the “Taboo.” Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina-Vereins 129 (1): 1-20.
Zeder, M.A. 2009. The Neolithic Macro-(R)evolution: Macroevolutionary Theory and the Study of Culture change. Journal of Archaeological Research 17:1-63.
Zeder, M.A. 2012. The Broad Spectrum Revolution at 40: Resource Diversity, Intensification, and an Alternative to Optimal Foraging Explanations. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 31: 241-264.
Zeder, M.A. 2015. Core Questions in Domestication Research. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112: 3191-3198.

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

A week or so ago, after I filmed this episode, archaeologists announced the discovery of a whole pig skeleton in Jerusalem dating to the Iron Age. A few thoughts: 1) Evolving Cultural Element: This discovery lends credence to Max Price's central argument that the pig taboo was an evolving cultural element. Even while the pig taboo was being formulated by Jerusalem religious elites, someone was raising pigs in the heart of the Kingdom of Judah! 2) North vs. South: This discovery, though super interesting, doesn't change the fact that pig husbandry apparently was more popular in Northern urban centers like Megiddo and Beth Shean compared to urban centers in the South (Lachish and Jerusalem). 3) There's Always an Exception: But! It is still interesting to see that, even while the taboo was being formulated, people in Judah were still raising and eating pigs [in small numbers]. I see this in similar light to the fact that Asherah figurines (a Canaanite goddess) were discovered in Jerusalem too, even though the Northern Kingdom gets blamed more often for idolatry.

[@lloydmunga4961]

It could be a garbage disposal just as much as it could be a meal .... it doesn't say in leviticus not to associate with pigs in any way shape or form . It just says don't eat them . Have they found any skeletons of any gentiles in Jerusalem? Now that would be a topic for argument now, wouldn't it?

[@joshrichards9121]

The Old Testament talks about all of Israels struggle with following God's commands. Its true that the North was more wayward more often, but the South had its issues too.

[@carbine090909]

The Bible covers all this. In the NT, the parable of the Prodigal Son has him living with pigs, and there's a pig herder mentioned in the story about Legion. The Scriptures overflow with people breaking taboos, everywhere, and at all times, which is the point of the propitiation of Jesus.

[@donaldseigel4101]

I think what archaeologist are forgetting in their digs is that although Megiddo, Hazor, and Jerusalem had a majority Jewish population in the Iron age, the Pig bones and skeletons could have came from traders residing in those cities, or native Canaanites. It is well known that there were Phoenician, Philistine, and Amorite/Aramaean traders in those cities and trade networks going from Greece, Mesopotamia, and Egypt.

[@marschlosser4540]

Let's not forget, pork products are valuable. People who produced them were likely wealthy. You don't have to eat them to make them. And, all Christian nations conquered by Islam had a thriving trade in pigs. More than likely, bones discovered are from non-Jews or apostate Jews who followed foreign gods.

[@dragonmaster613]

A wise man once said: "some people avoid bacon for Religious reasons, I avoid Religion for bacon reasons. "

[@rdjb9650]

Love it. 😃

[@WayneSmith-lo8be]

Very RELIGIOUSLY STATED by that wise man !!!!!!

[@rdjb9650]

@@WayneSmith-lo8be it was Mohammed, if I remember correctly.

[@WayneSmith-lo8be]

@@rdjb9650 Mohammed, The FATHER of Government-controlled religion.

[@ArkadiBolschek]

Hmm, yes, very wise.

[@t900badbot]

I'm a butcher. I have had people say "pork is unclean." Then buy crablegs and catfish and scallops. I just shake my head.

[@rednarok]

whats wrong with scallops? catfish yeah i understand. crab legs why? Oysters can be very disgusting too

[@t900badbot]

@@rednarok all shell fish is unclean, because ita a fish without scales. Same as cat fish.

[@tiffanydennis4227]

All those are bottomfeeders

[@t900badbot]

@@tiffanydennis4227 that has nothing to do w it. Jews don't bother with pigs, as there is no secondary product in their animal husbandry. It wasn't profitable. Don't overthink it, its ALWAYS about the money. Ever as far back as we can peer into history.

[@sarielizard1]

They are all disgusting honestly.

[@doriskoons531]

Texas was frontier with a lot of new people moving in and settling in the 1800s. When I was working on my family’s history I noticed a pattern. People brought pigs because you could walk them and they stayed near your wagon. As settlements formed people let their small livestock wander around their houses to hunt bugs and such to eat. As settlements turned into proper towns someone would complain about pigs running loose and how unsophisticated it made the town look. The word unclean was always used. Soon an ordinance would be passed that required pigs to be fenced or forbidden in town at all. A year later the local newspaper would be filled with complaints about all the trash and rubbish around town. The pigs had been keeping the town clean. Rather than return to pigs on the loose the town would start converting to sanitary solutions used by large cities. This pattern seems to fit your description of settlement as well. Pigs don’t bother farmers and pioneers because they understand their advantages and how they fit into life. But as more people only know town life they see pigs as uncontrolled, a nuisance, wild, and finally unclean. They don’t fit their idea of what a modern town should look like so they are forced out. It isn’t really about them being unclean as they clearly clean up after the unclean habits of people. It is about image and people wanting to look prosperous. A tool toward this is ridiculing the people who still raise pigs. Eventually those people are labeled unclean, too.

[@ecouturehandmades5166]

Your last sentence drove home a nail for me. I worked for environmental services (our trash handling "pretty" name). Some of the public treated us as tho we were filthy, even tho we were not making trash, just doing our jobs of safely dealing with their garbage. I still get people asking me if I am glad to be away from the garbage. Wtf! We all make trash/garbage every single day and SOMEBODY has to handle it. It's a very necessary job and the public should be more than grateful that someone is willing to touch their waste and safely deal with it to PROTECT the public from all sorts of pathogens.

[@ania7930]

@@ecouturehandmades5166 Seriously! Trash disposal and sanitation is a backbone of any city or town. I get that the society perceives jobs related to trash as low requirement jobs, but many jobs are like that and few are as essential.

[@user-cc1ej9yr5p]

So social status outweighs the need for a good protein source?

[@ania7930]

@@user-cc1ej9yr5p We are highly social species, so as long as this protein source was not essential to survival, I don't see why it couldn't be foregone in the name of social status. After all it translates to stuff like availability of mates and signaled group belonging. Pretty vital stuff :)

[@dinotopher770]

It's like complaining the garbage man looks too much ..like a garbage man.

[@jeremysipes44]

I take the Leviticus dietary laws more as food warning labels."If you eat this and get sick don't come crying to me."😅

[@niemand9362]

I like this. God comes off as sassy and petty. I love it.

[@bawbawl]

As it should be taken. Dietry guidelines

[@WebShaman01]

@@niemand9362 Also, see Old Testament.

[@Barbara-jq2se]

Re:comment: 👆Don’t be a mocker about what God’s letting you know about the clean vs. unclean foods. This is a rather serious topic. Anyone who becomes a mocker will sadly have to suffer the consequences or quickly smarten up from their own ignorance! He strongly wants you to be truly healthy in as many areas as possible so please be careful with your words & foods you “think” are just fine for eating. Jesus Christ wouldn’t be warning us if there wasn’t a really valid reason for it. Think about that. 🤔

[@LoafLobster]

@@Barbara-jq2se Why should we take the knowledge of an ancient man and use it for the basis of modern health guidelines and food safety? I’ve almost studied nothing about pigs but I probably know 4x more than Jesus ever knew about swine or food safety. Please cite a source that isn’t a law book/ fanfiction/ fairytale/ fantasy novel.

[@ngauruhoezodiac3143]

A friend bought a piglet with the intention of fattening it for a Christmas feast. However it was so lovable that he didn't have the heart to slaughter it. He used to go to the pub and the pig would wait patiently outside. When he came out he had a bottle of beer for the pig.

[@Wasserkaktus]

It's why I think if people abstain from pork, it's out of RESPECT for pigs for their remarkable intelligence and emotional depth, NOT because of disdain for pigs.

[@coryaw95]

@@Wasserkaktus oh yeah, those sows are so empathetic that they chronically suffocate their piglets and have to be crated. How complex

[@Wasserkaktus]

@@coryaw95 Uh, your comment PROVES how emotionally complex they are. The mothers get so incredibly stressed out in the horrid conditions they are often in, they savage their piglets due to intense trauma and stress.

[@coryaw95]

@@Wasserkaktus Except this doesn't only happen on commercial farms. It's endemic to pig rearing in general.

[@Wasserkaktus]

@@coryaw95 And you don't think that maybe all pig farming is extremely stressful for pigs? Do you honestly think such complex animals enjoy that kind of environment?

[@madianantar7842]

14:03 i’m lebanese and we don’t eat a lot of pork, because pigs are kinda expensive to raise here. See, what this video failed to mention is that pigs consume an oceanic amount of water as oppose to say sheep or goats. I believe this the main reason why they’re not that popular in the levant

[@susanaaragorn8606]

And probably there was a climate change from more humid to dry co ditions around that time.

[@magdlynstrouble2036]

Ah, thats why there was that handy herd of pigs on the Gadarene shores of the Sea of Galilee for Jesus to cast demons into. Also, Israel is wetter and much more fertile than Judah. Judah was envious of its fertility.

[@madianantar7842]

@@magdlynstrouble2036 what are you talking about? Lol 😂

[@user-un8tv1pp8m]

Good idea, but does not explain how the amount of pig bones in the middens swerves down so severely in a rather short time - that did not see too much climate change reducing water availbility.

[@sld1776]

I think this is the main reason. In societies where there's a lot of water, pork is the most valued meat.

[@vicsar]

I always wondered about this. I knew there was more to it than just "because God said so" or "because pigs are dirty." I just never thought I would find such a great and objective explanation of it. Thanks.

[@Syncrotron9001]

They are as intelligent as dogs or a 3 yr old human, seems wrong to eat a self aware creature

[@vicsar]

@@Syncrotron9001 Yeah... I still eat them, and other animals, but I try to keep it as low as posible.

[@DMSBrian24]

​@@Syncrotron9001 3 year old kids are self-aware and can talk, adult pigs don't even recognize themselves in a mirror, but regardless this is a pointless argument. Also, eating dogs is totally fine too, just not socially accepted in our culture due to the role they play in our society.

[@Syncrotron9001]

@@DMSBrian24 BEATNGU

[@vicsar]

@@DMSBrian24 Ditto.

[@Laszlo34]

To quote the movie Pulp Fiction: Vincent: "Bacon tastes _good_ , pork chops taste _good_ ." Jules: "Sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I'd never know 'cause I wouldn't eat the filthy [things]." Thanks for the video!

[@THE-zv7vj]

thank you for not eating my pork Jules..

[@17ftd]

This video really reflecting of my experience. I always build my minecraft farm with no pigs because they offer only meat while other animals gives you leather, feather etc and beef steak fill you up the most.

[@lunix3259]

Absolute chad comment

[@Ch-ew9tm]

They are easier to breed tho. A Carrot or potato farmland gives you 2-4 carrots/potatoes. A Wheat-field gives 1-2 Wheat.

[@Ming1975]

I remember playing a game where pigs are use for leather and sausages.

[@17ftd]

@@Ch-ew9tm most of my play I never found potato or carrot until I am pretty much established by wheat farm and cow. I just live on fish and apple starting

[@gypsyg9612]

@ming Knights and Merchants? Used to love that game. One of my favorites

[@c.j.nyssen6987]

You should also consider the difficulties of raising pigs. Pigs don't sweat, so they require large amounts of water to regulate their body temperature by drinking it and wallowing in bodies of water or mud. Without a stable source of water, raising pigs comes at the expense of other creatures (humans included) who also need water to survive. I think it would be interesting to compare the weather patterns and environmental conditions around the times when the numbers of people raising and consuming pigs dropped off.

[@copic8241]

What a very interesting point you raise.

[@lovelydonkey]

Pigs don't produce milk or wool. So for the water resource they use they are not a good choice as live stock

[@omnigar9611]

All you points just prove people want to be where they want regardless of environmental considerations. Smart people put things where they prosper best, not where it's convenient

[@beverlycharles6534]

Agree with this. I always figured it strictly was inability to refrigerate resulting in illness of those who ate pork, but certainly as in vid - cost of pig care versus yield is a major factor. Videographer did a great job bringing up several factors.

[@sugar2943]

Raising pig is not as difficult as you make it seem. I raised two from piglets to full adults and they had no problem drinking water from a aqua table. Very smart animals that one can raise right and still be useful.

[@rayhilchey6706]

I found this an excellent synopsis of archeologic and textual research on the subject. It informed me on new information from recent evidence. Well researched, well written and well presented. Thank you

[@Jefff72]

I was walking and talking to my Jewish college classmate. I asked him about eating pork and he basically said that he shouldn't but it taste good. I think that he particularity liked pepperoni on pizza. Ya, I know, who doesn't?

[@bettyweir3075]

Exactly. Dr. Nehemia Gordon says there are still a lot of people who are Jews, but don't practice staying Kosher anymore, etc. It's so much easier to just to "Go With the Flow". Dr Nehemia Gordon is often a guest speaker on the Shabbat Night Live Show!

[@YahWho-is1tt]

well - those of us who don't eat it, that's who.

[@istillkillbugs]

​@@YahWho-is1ttIf you don't eat it, how do you know you don't like it?

[@mitchelmodine9197]

"Thou shalt not eat the pig, for it will give you diarrhea." Funniest thing I've heard this week.

[@GravesRWFiA]

you could say the same ting about my wife's cooking and she doesn't eat pork!

[@lufhopespeacefully2037]

do u read quran mitch

[@leonamoonslasher7070]

Same can be happend if you eat other red meats lol

[@aaronsirkman8375]

@@lufhopespeacefully2037 Why are you going through the comments asking people if they read the Quran? What's the follow-up question you want to ask?

[@Puppythuppa]

he wants to deceive people into his 7th century Pagan CULT Islam.! Ignorant human souls who DO NOT KNOW THEIR MESSIAH "YESHUA/JESUS CHRIST THE LORD."🤔🤗🤣🕎♎

[@samuelstepp2890]

This might be a bit too controversial and you've touched on elements of this in your "The Most Painful Religious Rituals" video but I was wondering if you could do a video on the origins and practice of religious male circumcision. Specifically among Jews and Muslims. Thanks. I enjoy your videos and found this one fascinating.

[@babyruthless9670]

Let's get this comment to the top!

[@memezoffuckery3207]

The practice of circumcision came from Egypt, the Jewish culture/ethnicity merged from one of Egypt’s provinces, when the Abrahamic beliefs (of Judaism and Christianity) spread throughout the Rome Empire and collapsed, a certain merchant a couple of centuries later (after the Western Roman collapsed) created a cult following with a new religion, borrowing a lot of aspects from the Abrahamic belief to instill upon he’s new mythology.

[@hoperules8874]

It is probably based off of long-term observations by people that shared a group bathroom & baths...Consequences might be slow, but consequences that are consistent, they speak volumes. Lack of "science" doesn't mean the consequential observations were wrong.

[@ameenafattah1415]

Bump! I am really interested in this as well.

[@Magnulus76]

@@memezoffuckery3207 Doesn't the story of Abraham and Moses sort of hint at this notion? The Torah portrays it as being received directly as a covenant from God. Not that different from the Egyptian belief, it would be the sign of being a "chosen people" in the Egyptians mind, perhaps? It would be a bit like how Vietnamese embraced Chinese customs, despite being distinct peoples.

[@chrisdewhurst3892]

Really appreciate your lucidity and in-depth knowledge, keep up the good work!

[@joanhyde1745]

This presentation was great, in-depth and cogent. The ban on pork consumption explained here is very well based in history and economics as well as relating to religious practices. Thanks for all your hard work.

[@Infotainment-cb6cy]

Now if only all the stupid zealots would watch this... The human mind is great at adapting. Including adaption to delusion.

[@Theprofessorator]

Reiligion for breakfast, but no bacon. :'(

[@rembrandt972ify]

Bacon is always justified.

[@KingshukMonsur]

why not doggo

[@FactStorm]

Haha

[@marschlosser4540]

Ah, but smoked beef, smoked, chicken and duck.

[@mr.x5495]

@@Smith-cd3yhonly idiots with iphones know anything ?

[@Ganondorfdude11]

A cat looks down on you, a dog looks up to you. A pig sees you as an equal.

[@thomasparis5016]

I like that.

[@kidkous]

@@paddyotterness All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.

[@TechBearSeattle]

"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."

[@Salsmachev]

It doesn't matter which way the mimic octopus looks at you, you won't see it coming anyway.

[@Draganism]

Says a lot about people.

[@cyirvine6300]

We tried being vegetarian for 3 years. Despite being part of a vegetarian coop, trafing recipes with friends, etc. we finally gave up. We were starving animals all the time!

[@BobbyOrding]

Me too was vegetarian for 4 years ....from 18 to 22.... I'm 37 right now .....old expirence for me I dont eat pork since i am 12 Years old because i read it in the Bible

[@YahWho-is1tt]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa... Sad tale -- clearly your co-op was sub-par. LOTS of folks thrive just fine without the need (or craving) for meat. Some folks just cannot IMAGINE life without it, but the truth of that matter is: taste cravings and "habits" are dynamic. Many folks can attest to their experiences with LOSING their previous cravings for meat -- pig or otherwise. Being ruled by one's appetite is seldom healthy!

[@cyirvine6300]

What has the co-op have to do with it? 3 years is plenty of time as far as I'm concerned. Oh, I absolutely HATE tofu. Lots of members did just fine. We were surprised we couldn't do it. We're active and required a lot of protein. Found 80-90g were necessary to prevent tendonitis.

[@Werebat]

“Because it’s WRITTEN, *that’s* why!”

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

I love how same people that love pork are not ok with dog meat

[@dewindae3059]

Do you know what a fallacious argument is?

[@dougkennedy4906]

In the words of Homer Simpson... " Some of us eat pork some don't, some of us eat beef, some don't. But everyone likes chicken, we have that in common. So let's drop it." Or something to that effect.

[@Laittth]

He forgot that vegans exist

[@dougkennedy4906]

@@Laittth I have never seen a cave painting of a salad.

[@magillanz]

chicken is my favourite vegetable

[@PC4USE1]

@@dougkennedy4906 Golden reply-you win my comment of the day award.

[@wonderingAroundtoNoWhere]

@@dougkennedy4906 you nearly killed me with this reply i am still laughing thanks

[@nicholasyoung3786]

The fact that this brilliant man used the glowing eyes meme completes me

[@Bacopa68]

Best use of it ever is in that screenshot of Gary Plauche in Baton Rouge.

[@lufhopespeacefully2037]

do u read quran nic

[@prettylights8873]

Ok ni

[@michaelcrockis7679]

@@Smith-cd3yh Pigs aren't and the ancient Israelites didn't know anything. There were even hooved carnivores at one time on the Earth.

[@omarlittle-hales8237]

Shalom, Salam, Peace. Quran [Last Testament] “He has forbidden you only dead animals, and blood, and the swine, and that which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for other than God.” (Quran 2:173) Torah [Old Testament] Also In The Gospel [New Testament] (Lev. 11:7-8) as . The approved animals "chew the cud," which is another way of saying they are ruminants that eat grass. Pigs "cheweth not the cud" . They eat calorie-

[@dennisweidner288]

Very informed and well-presented explanation. The pork prohibition is something I have always wondered about.

[@Infotainment-cb6cy]

Have you truly? wasn't it obvious that religion is merely a fairy tale cause barbarians are not smart enough to form a society without punishment of hellfire?

[@selahsolomon9216]

They have ALOT of parasites. Tap worm comes from pigs. They carry diseases.

[@Potencyfunction]

The pork is not prohibited, is just that some people can think in depth before they take an action for eating a dirty animal.

[@keatonhayes1900]

@@Potencyfunctionlike, every animal? Go vegan, then.

[@53rodj]

This was explained so well I could understand it easily. Wonderful.

[@heeseunglee6605]

I just imagine something similar to Scottish tradition of kilt. Jewish people might’ve had a tradition of not eating pigs but it wasn’t a serious doctrine. But as they were harassed by foreigners, they started to latch on to their tradition, making it their identity, and evolving into a complete taboo of pork.

[@Menzobarrenza]

Well, if you read the Torah, pigs weren't singled out as particularly bad. They were just forbidden in the exact same way as camels, rabbits, and shellfish. Seeing pigs as particularly bad is a later development, but their prohibition is not, judging by the text.

[@pansepot1490]

@@Menzobarrenza “On the basis of a variety of arguments, modern scholars generally see the completed Torah as a product of the time of the Persian Achaemenid Empire (probably 450-350 BCE),[9][10] although some would place its composition in the Hellenistic period (333-164 BCE).[13]” Wikipedia The text is very late compared to the thousands of years BCE the video covers.

[@Menzobarrenza]

@@pansepot1490 Awesome of you to provide a source. Thanks. Very important distinction, though: "The completed Torah" is a VERY specific compilation of all 5 books of the Torah. It really has no bearing on wether or not the forbiddance of the assorted animals was simultaneous or not. Each of the 5 individual books of the Torah is obviously going to be older than a compilation of all 5 of them. Even more so for the individual narratives therein.

[@heeseunglee6605]

@@Menzobarrenza Now I wonder why they banned camels and rabbits. My first thought is maybe Jewish people observe people dying of protein shock, but as this video points out, you cannot use modern medical facts to describe the historical taboo.

[@Menzobarrenza]

@@heeseunglee6605 I can't speak for any anthropological reasons, but the theological motivation is very simple. In the narrative, YHWH explicitly states that He intends to make the Jews noticeably distinct from all other peoples ("holy" literally means "set apart"), in order for the Jews to be able to serve as reminder of YHWH to the other nations. Ergo, it really is as simple as the Jews just being made intentionally different to everybody else. There is nothing special about the animals themselves. At least, this is what it looks like if you just read the text itself.

[@johncorrall1739]

I read somewhere that the cannibals of New Guinea called human flesh”long pig”. My grandad served in the RAF in WW2,many planes returning from raids would be badly shot up,there were fires on the bombers,it was far from rare for a gunner to burn to death. My grandad couldn’t touch pork for years after the war,the smell was exactly the same as burnt human flesh.

[@mysticonthehill]

I totally can understand that. Among North American Indians bear was considered to have an uncanny resemblance to human beings when butchered and thus a large number of rituals sprung up around its hunting to delineate it as something distinct.

[@johncorrall1739]

@@mysticonthehill Humans,pigs and bears are all omnivores. Coincidence? Maybe.

[@chickenlover657]

So what you're saying is that roasted humans smell yummy?

[@johncorrall1739]

@@chickenlover657 Yup. I suspect we taste good too.

[@blanket4763]

My great uncle had a similar experience, as he served in the pacific theater as well. He didn’t allow bacon or ham in his home because it smelled exactly like piles of bodies being burned

[@mattbonner12]

I think that it's also important to remember though that ritual impurity didn't necessarily equate to immorality. While I do think that it did become important for cultural identity, I think that it came about from the pig's association with ritual uncleanness, which centered around death.

[@TheHypnotstCollector]

The pig was the most common sacrifical animal in cult ritual. Be it Asklepios, Demeter, Zeus, ...pigs were used in all kinds of rituals. If you have a pig taboo that would be useful in keeping your people from becoming involved with pagan polytheistic cults.

[@daisy13joyce]

I used to have a smallholding many years ago , and among the livestock was a Large white pig called Lucy. As the breed name implies they are large, but she was a sweet natured creature who would ''talk'' to everyone. She was clean in her habits, her stye was large and she always kept the latrine end clear of her bed of straw. Pigs are not necessarily all unclean, its only man who keeps them in captivity who endorses that, left to themselves they are just the same as other animals.

[@MyHusbands]

Let your pig free in the wild. And see her after a month.

[@farooqmian9344]

its like a rottweiler when raised by a family acts like a labrador. but thats not their natural aura.

[@siamzero9480]

@@MyHusbands Nothing extraordinary will happen, they'll just burrow in the ground to search for roots and grub.

[@SMASH-xi7go]

@@MyHusbands you go out into the wild for a few days (no modern equipment) and see what happens

[@ContantContact]

Pigs are unclean because of what they eat. And that includes about everything. Ant that explains why they are hotbeds for trichinosis infection. I got an antipathy to pork while a teen ager and reading the 1942 Yearbook of Agriculture which is on animal disease. That book cured me from pork. Cloven hooved cud chewing animals also can get sick, but they generally look very sick and die. And they do NOT naturally get trichinosis. Pigs don't live the same way. There is no comparison.

[@ryanhollist3950]

This feels like a reverse version of the lobster going from a garbage food (if even considered edible at all) to being among the the highest tier of decadence.

[@drainmonkeys385]

Amazing. Because it’s the best

[@finolacat8355]

Well said, I think oysters underwent a similar journey. :)

[@bccsivxx-xxivvii]

@@finolacat8355 Yea, poor man's clam.

[@alanchoichang8336]

and lobsters arent even all that great...

[@frankieamsden7918]

Lobster is another food prohibited for kosher.

[@supernoobsmith5718]

Much deeper than I expected! Good stuff!

[@goinghomesomeday1]

I suppose the main reason that the Jewish people stopped raising pigs is possibly that there was no monetary profit to be had. Here in Ireland pigs were and still are very popular. It was said here that you never ate pork unless there was an "R" in the month, that came from the time before refrigeration.

[@brad4908]

Dude, you have a lovely way of presenting material, and telling history, without winding people up or getting hooked on dogma. Fantastic! Long may you continue.

[@comments.are.turned.off...]

Get off him. He's mine!!!

[@jeep19]

And he's cute too 😍😍😉

[@bitmaster-781]

Life style conflicts. My family was a rice farmer. Cow, Goat and Sheep like to eat rice, rice is delicious grass for them. Pork, Chicken and Duck are rise by rice farmer because they don't eat rice and they like to eat rice bran and rice grain (they eat clean food not dirty) which we have a lot of it and can store for years after dry by sun. But we also rise a few Cows and Buffaloes for labor use so we don't lack leather. For clothing, They're Linen, Cotton even Silk.

[@darlenelarochelle4011]

Thats a good life you have. Live long and prosper. 😊

[@erichstocker8358]

Very practical solutions

[@SHWA67]

When you think about the fact that there wasn’t a sanitation department and pigs were used for such, of course I wouldn’t want to eat that.

[@ahmetgunay91]

Out of context, but there was a saying in Turkiye for hypocritical religious people that goes like this: “We don’t eat pig because it's haram, but we eat haram like pigs.”

[@madddog7]

I don't think I heard this mentioned: pigs are _very_ good at upturning / 'tilling' fields.

[@johnbrereton5229]

Very true maddog, if you have a piece of rough land covered in thorn bushes and stinging nettles, just put you pigs on it and they will eat all the plants and till the soil so it looks like a ploughed field, great if you want to plant crops there.

[@janacagle2141]

@@johnbrereton5229 pigs would be detrimental to the farming which is prized in biblical times, such as olives, grapes, and wheat, and oats.

[@eleethtahgra7182]

Until it start messing with the farm. But yeah, its good for tilling the ground....and the feces would act as fertilizer as well.

[@johnbrereton5229]

@@eleethtahgra7182 Yes indeed, you would certainly need to put a fence of some sort around them, or they would wreak havoc across the farm 🐷

[@johnbrereton5229]

@@janacagle2141 Olives, grapes, wheats and oats are still prized today, but as long as the pigs are restricted to a part of the land you want cleared and cultivated, they would do an excellent job. Once their work is done, you can move them elsewhere and plant any of the crops you mentioned or more.

[@Nemestro]

What amazes me is that ancient people had a glimpse about ruminant animals. What Im sayin is that every ruminant animal meat is safer to eat, more nutritious and have a better omega 3 to omega 6 ratio bein that way a healthier option.

[@kb697355]

Fascinating and informative! Thank you!

[@pokerface7840]

I wonder if the fact that the pig is an omnivore had anything to do with it (since all carnivores are prohibited) .Also pigs need a lot of water and mud to regulate their temperature because of the lack of sweat glands, I wonder how that would have played out in a region where water supplies were already beginning to dwindle.

[@FelonyVideos]

I raised a pig for the county fair. They don't need water and mud at all to prosper. They enjoy it, but it's not necessary. Also, they are smarter than dogs.

[@MariaLopez-hc2nm]

@@FelonyVideos Really 😃??

[@FelonyVideos]

@@MariaLopez-hc2nm Yes, really. 👍

[@Know26874]

It's because they're bottom feeder they eat anything

[@timq6224]

@@Know26874 basically the mollusk of the overworld...

[@madhavdeval]

I'd definitely love to see the evolution of the image of pigs in Hinduism- considering they were at least holy enough for a supreme god to have taken avatar as a pig, when did they reach their modern image as unclean

[@insaneweasel1]

I wonder if Islam had influence on this?

[@sylvereon]

@@insaneweasel1 it’s entirely possible, especially with the effect Islam has on South Asia

[@kshatrapavan]

The dharmashāstras make a distinction between wild and domesticated pigs. Varāhas i.e. wild pigs are considered relatively clean and can also be hunted and eaten (depending on one's varna) while Vidvarāhas i.e. village-pigs are deemed unclean. Wild pigs are still hunted and eaten in parts of India by some otherwise mainstream traditional Hindus. Furthermore, in Hinduism, reverence, association with cleanliness and holiness don't always go together. For example, Vishnu also takes form of a fish and a lion (lion-man), but both their flesh is considered unclean in the shāstras. While dogs are considered ritually unclean, they are still revered as vehicle of Bhairava, but eating their flesh is considered to be among the lowliest of acts.

[@caraxes_noodleboi]

@@kshatrapavan Yes you are correct. But pigs are considered forbidden to eat by general Hindu population and boars aren't available either. So Hindus more or less completely avoid pig/pig like animal meat.

[@kshatrapavan]

@@caraxes_noodleboi Yes. Abolition of Kshatriya princely states, deforestation and urbanization has made hunting a thing of the past. This has burred the distinction between Varāha (wild-boar) and Vidvarāha (village-pig) making Hindus avoidant of pork in general.

[@alwanza]

Thanks again for examining every angle. I would put more emphasis on the rejection of the "old religions" with multiple Gods.. For example, when Moses found Israelites worshiping the "golden calf" (Baal), and several other times in the Old Testament when the Israelite Jews had to be reminded NOT to participate in the practices of their Pagan neighbors. The pig consumption shows that the southern Kingdom of Judea was stricter about being isolationist. As you point out, the pig (like rabbits) were known for their fertility and were therefore sacred to many of the Pagan Goddesses. Elijah, the crazy fundamentalist, and other patriarchs definitely wanted to put an end to that consorting with the "unclean" neighbors, lest their wives remember the Goddess. Putting women in charge of enforcing the eating taboos was a strategic tactic.

[@cowsandpigsmaketheearthwar1471]

LOVE IS THE SOURCE PaulTeich© 10/31/2023 This poem is about talking to God about love Love is the source of all things You are the source of all things We can feel your love Can you feel ours? We can see examples of your power Can you see ours? Are ours destruction or planting flowers? How do you view us from your ivory tower? What keeps evil at bay? Is it a spell and apple and leaf of bay? Is it an old fashioned ruler who thinks she’s a Bey? Or is it the simple acts of simple people taking care of each other day by day? You have given us love to turn Earth into Eden You let us know we were without true gnosis with the apple Adam had eaten Letting us know we get intrinsic worth from giving a rib and not from beating Please take away indifference, give us peace and make us care if everyone is eating Love is the source Whether it comes from you or me, love takes us to heaven on a winged horse May peace, love and poetry save the world!!!

[@ArkadiBolschek]

Leviticus: you shall not eat of the pig, for it is an unclean beast. Obelix: these hebrews are crazy.

[@mikloscsuvar6097]

Haha. He eat always boar, not pig.

[@ArkadiBolschek]

@@mikloscsuvar6097 As far as Leviticus is concerned, boars count as pigs.

[@alessandrodelogu7931]

There is really a chapter of "Asterix" where he and Obelix travel to Judaea, and Obelix argues about pork (boar in this case) with a Jew.

[@heeseunglee6605]

Makes me wanna reread the whole series!

[@ArkadiBolschek]

@@alessandrodelogu7931 Asterix and the Black Gold! Getafix sends them to the Middle East to get 'rock oil' for the magic potion!

[@jcfretts]

I find the dynamic of anti-urban themes in parts of the Old Testament, or nomad vs. farmer, to be fascinating. From this video, I take away that pigs were most popular in both cities and/or settled agriculture, but less suitable for nomadic life or small villages. Two similar but different dichotomies that -to me - seem to fit with other themes in the Bible.

[@omarlittle-hales8237]

The approved animals "chew the cud," which is another way of saying they are ruminants that eat grass. Pigs "cheweth not the cud" because they possess simple guts, unable to digest cellulose. They eat calorie-dense foods, not only nuts and grains but also less salubrious items such as carrion, human corpses and feces.

[@Nerukenshi1233]

Theres also the "royal people" vs "common people" dynamic found in the Tzitzit and many other mitzvot.

[@martavdz4972]

Yeah, it might have been an effort to maintain the values especially found in nomadic cultures, like independence, out-of-the-box thinking, relying on your friends and family rather than on a rigid social system etc. Reminding Israelites over and over that their god is not a god of accumulating stationary wealth helped them keep their smarts and flexibility. I liked the short video "Bombino - story of Nomad" where a Touareg proudly presents these nomadic values. Seemed to me it had a sort of Torah/Old Testament vibe to it 😃

[@mathewfinch]

The Urban vs Rural fight is also a theme in the Golgamesh/Enkidu fight in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

[@thermonuclearwarhead]

So reading that book, and my first video from you, impressed.

[@slowbro1337]

Most foods that are taboo were ones that could make you sick from parasites or bacteria. Tapeworms in pork or toxins in shellfish.

[@karlscher5170]

Debunked. It's the need of Jevvs and MusIims to hate on outsiders.

[@daniele7989]

All of this stuff still makes sense biblically: A lot of the purity laws were intended to differentiate the Israelites from their pagan neighbors, so that they wouldn't go on engaging in the same idolatry as their neighbors (which they still did obvs). Also everyone knows that the Kingdom of Israel was way more into worshipping pagan gods throughout history, right up until Assyria destroyed them, so it makes sense that, if the bible was written by mostly folks from the southern kingdom, the pork taboo would be included with the general wickedness of the Northern kingdom

[@marschlosser4540]

Your comment is a breath of fresh air. thank you!

[@noahway13]

Israelites worshipped idols because they saw no difference in results , because there is no difference. It is all mythology.

[@Maples01]

@@noahway13 There are no atheists in foxholes

[@noahway13]

@@Maples01 You know how many men died in foxhole praying to a god? Praying to your GOD? (millions) Praying people died in same numbers as non believers.. What you think is a sound argument is quite ignorant

[@lewcy]

@@noahway13 people who live just lives according to god tend to have better results than their amoral counterparts

[@jayedgardyson1920]

I hereby declare that this is - by far - the best channel on KZbin. Every video is so well presented and contains so much fascinating and wonderful information - so much so that I often watch them time and again and still come away each time having learnt something new and invaluable. Thank you for all the work that goes into making this channel so excellent.

[@petepal55]

That was literally enlightening, thank you.

[@Infotainment-cb6cy]

Brightened your day, huh? (*chuckles*)

[@bkfishing5650]

Literally😂

[@JoeZUGOOLA]

Did your phone light get brighter? 😂

[@thebootlegknitter]

Just heard about your channel because of Esoterica. Love it!!

[@RelativelyBest]

There's a scene in The Longships by Frans G. Bengtsson where the main characters, a bunch of vikings, fish up a strange dark-skinned man who jumped from another ship. They can't understand what he's saying but learn that he won't row on Saturdays and refuses to eat pork, which confuses them. One of the vikings who has a knack for language spends some time speaking with him and report that he's an escaped slave and a "Jew", whatever that is. One of the others asks why he won't eat pork and the first guy says: "It seems that makes his god angry." They ask why and he goes: "I don't know. Maybe his god wants all the pork for himself?" The vikings consider this for a moment and conclude that it's a good thing their own gods don't meddle in such things.

[@owlthepirate5997]

Awsome story 😄 The vikings were very smart people, lol.

[@RelativelyBest]

@@owlthepirate5997 They actually seem to have been a very straightforward no-nonsense type of people who valued common sense.

[@magdlynstrouble2036]

Ugh, I hate that kind of ignorant religious "humor." The whole point was, "Yahweh" said pig was unclean and NOT fit for sacrifice or consumption. The priests ate the sacrifices. Pig meat was considered low class food, and the priests were the top echelon of society.

[@recoveringsoul755]

Pigs don't sweat. They keep every toxin they ever consume in their flesh. Parasites, and vaccines. They can eat a human and fully digest the corpse except for the teeth. Pigs can till the ground and clean up garbage, plant trimmings, and pigskin can be used for some things. I haven't been able to find any examples of Jesus himself ever putting any animal flesh into his own mouth. Not even fish. He may feed others, but it seems like he himself only ate water, wine, fruit, figs, olives, bread, oil. Maybe milk & honey. Bread back then had seeds and nuts, fruits in it and was more like a meal.

[@dthomas9230]

@@magdlynstrouble2036 Any religious humor is fine in my book as the only ignorance is believing in sky fairies.

[@MrWalksindarkness]

"there is no reason to hate these people for doing something slightly different that us, but let's do it anyway" -religion throughout history

[@UGNAvalon]

I once heard that Japan’s constant history of _necessitating_ cooperation due to natural disasters is part of the reason why it’s so harshly-conformist. Considering how brutal the kingdoms of yore could be to each other, that could explain why the cultures of that time were also xenophobic/conformist. 🤔

[@Abilliph]

It's the opposite of your example. Instead of "they hate these people for doing something slightly different", it was "doing something slightly different BECAUSE they hate these people". The hate probably began by competing over the limited resources in the area. Tough conditions create bad neighbors.

[@cathipalmer8217]

Eh, more a people thing than a religion thing. It's just that historically, most people were religious. I refer you to the antipathy among people identifying with different modern political parties. Not religion based. Just human.

[@berlineczka]

Oh, the narcissism of small differences, as Sigmund Freud called it

[@markgraham2312]

This video is excellent! Thank you for making it. A couple of notes. 1) The scripture fragment at 12:20 mentioning an apotropaic effect of the pig is strangely similar to Mark 5:2-13 in the New Testament where Jesus encounters a herd of pigs called Legion. 2) In Greece the pig is associated with the original Female cult, the lower class, and sacrifice to the underworld. Whereas domestication of cattle is associated with the Male deities, the upper class, and sacrifice to the Olympians. 3) Finally I would date Leviticus closer to 500 BC as associated with the Documentary and Supplementary hypotheses.

[@celesterosales8976]

Interesting. And one thing I don’t see mentioned that I’ve heard as a theory, and that is that pig meat is closest to human meat and perhaps the rare cases that could know that, they want to discourage cannibalism.

[@markgraham2312]

@@celesterosales8976 I'd like to hear more about that. Can some biologists time in whether it's true about the similarities between human and pig meat.

[@celesterosales8976]

@@markgraham2312 I was watching one of those horrible crime shows where the criminal tried to burn the victims in the fireplace and a police officer who lived nearby said he thought he smelled a pig being roasted. There have been cannibal tribes and when you think how many die of starvation since the beginning of time, it may have been to discourage that. I certainly don’t know thank goodness 😅

[@markgraham2312]

@@celesterosales8976 Thank you.

[@DonQuixote66]

I'm not good at quoting the Bible but I remember reading somewhere in the Bible where Jesus said to someone not to call anything that God created, "unclean"! In another passage it says that It's not what goes in your mouth that makes you unclean But what comes out of your mouth that makes you unclean.

[@merthsoft]

"Pigs ... don't produce milk." Baby pigs: *starve to death*

[@harrietharlow9929]

Pigs produce milk like all mammals, but they do not chew cud. As for disease, My parents told me that I must eat only pork that has been very thoroughly cooked because they carry trichinosis and humans can contract that (and other diseases) from undercooked pork.

[@AnnikaLidne]

Raw pork meat used to be marinated in vinegar to remove parasites.

[@jasminecollins897]

It was poor phrasing, but the difference is that pigs can't be easily milked by humans. Suction is required in order to get their milk out, unlike goats and cows and many other species. In order to milk a pig back then, you'd basically have to suck it out.

[@crocodiledundee4461]

@@AnnikaLidne Usefull information, thanks ..

[@DrSpooglemon]

@@harrietharlow9929 Those diseases are a problem of factory farming.

[@justincheng5241]

I would also add that the association of pork with foreignness (beginning with the association with Philistines), would have compounded the southern critique of the North, since, one favored attack of the Biblical writers were that the Northern Kingdom were too cozy with their foreign neighbors and their cultic practices. BTW, I suggest doing a general video on religion and dietary practices, including discussing the dietary restrictions from the Indian religions of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.

[@josef2012]

To be fair,they're all cultic practices.

[@lufhopespeacefully2037]

do u read quran

[@UGNAvalon]

@lufhopes peacefully Do they need to?

[@hiwhowhatareyoudoinghereme1974]

@@lufhopespeacefully2037 I’m going to read the Quran one of these days. Why ask everyone though

[@lufhopespeacefully2037]

@@hiwhowhatareyoudoinghereme1974 ,because god had commanded us to transport islam`s message to nonmuslims as the last message from go to mankind

[@George10767]

Before the advent of refrigerators it was considered (in some countries) that pig meat would decay relatively quickly. In France, for example, there may still exist specialised pork butchers (bouchers porcins)

[@wildanwildan3144]

"Thou shall not eat the pig, for it will give you diarrhea." imagine finding that line in a religious scripture.

[@MundaSquire]

I once read where the split was between nomadic herders (sheep and cows) and more stationary city dwellers (more pig in diet), and the attempt to distinguish themselves from "the other." The Jews being originally nomadic sheep herders set themselves apart. Thanks for the in-depth analysis and clearing up that myth by good, scientific evidence.

[@dbmail545]

That's the story I was told.

[@ninatrabona4629]

In support of this I would point out that rabbits are also prohibited under Jewish law, they are raised in confined spaces like pigs which would make them well suited to being raised in cities also.

[@geeljire9247]

Just to clarify, they weren't Jews at that point - they were still Canaanites. Then the southern Hill Canaanites in Palestine developed the Hebrew/Israelite identity which then further split into Jews and Samaritans. (There are still under a 1000 Samaritans left in Nablus and the vicinity today) And to clarify even further, the original Canaanites, or the later Hebrew/Israelite populations weren't solely pastoralists, they were also farmers.

[@MundaSquire]

@Geeljire Thanks for the info!

[@Lektuerekurs]

my school teacher said that they also forbid to make statues of their god because they would be too heavy to carry for nomads. semi-related here bit I hope it fots to the point in the original post.

[@francestod.tandocjr4092]

I have lot of relatives living in the rural areas. The main reason why they raise very few pigs is that , pigs compete with human in term of food. Pigs does not eat grass , they eat corn or rice , which human also consume, pigs are feed by human left overs, so raising so many pigs is not sustainable when their source of feeds depends on just human leftovers, there are not just plenty of human leftovers to feed so many pigs. Goats , cattle and sheep eat grass , there are just plenty of grass growing all over, so there are no problems to feed them. In your video you said that pork are consumed by the poor people which is the opposite. Pork are served in special occasion like gatherings , marriages, baptism etc.

[@beastshawnee]

Pigs will eat grass-maybe not as first choices for nutrition-I personally have fed grass to pigs-but pigs eat everything. In a pig enclosure-there is not a blade of grass left and often the tree bark is also missing up as high as they can reach if large trees are in there before the pigs. All small trees get consumed, all weeds eaten. The place will be bare dirt.

[@francestod.tandocjr4092]

@@beastshawnee Well, pigs can’t survive only on grass - they need some grain in their diet, as do chickens - which is why you never see “grass-fed pork” or “grass-fed chicken” on any packaging. You only see grass-fed beef, lamb, and goat, because these animals eat only grass.” Pigs will survive on grasses but they will not do well. This diet will not sustain them for very long and they will not grow and reproduce well, if at all.

[@francestod.tandocjr4092]

@@beastshawnee We raise animals for food production, we expect them to grow and reproduce. If they dont so whats the point of raising them.

[@bartpowers9972]

Pigs are a grazing animal and will do well on pasture they do benefit from grain or acorns nuts roots they love to eat Johnson grass roots

[@Thomas-wn7cl]

There is an old saying, "root hog or die". In many regions, pigs were meant to forage for their own food. Many times people would put them on an island in a river or off the coast, and come back in a year to harvest them. In Spain a swine herder would drive his swine herd through the woods to feed on the nuts that fall from the trees and other edible roots.

[@wong4728]

This is original and excellent presentation. Love it.

[@autarchprinceps]

I've been to a major historic museum that recreated a whole area to a historic state on a multi km² area. The one thing about historic diseases in animals I learned there, is the one animal that was always kept separate, from the human homes, which often were directly above the stable in those times, as well as from all other animals, because they were just so disease ridden, was sheep. They litterally hat exhibits about it. There were specific buildings to hold the sheep, and only they were outside the town. Pigs on the other hand, not so much. So I also doubt that diseases was the primary reason.

[@TeleNikon]

Hmmm. So pigs are like cigarettes. Once extremely popular and then banned. Except, perhaps, in the lower classes. Anyone got a light? Gotta smoke some bacon.

[@justincase8731]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@zendonreyland1298]

Nowadays here in the US, on the rare occasion someone gets sick from trichinosis, it's usually some hunter who bagged a bear and ate it. Bears are 4-legged garbage disposals!

[@modestrocker1]

only cause people have invaded and destroyed their spaces

[@aldy9721]

@@modestrocker1 you mean rightfully conquered

[@shinobi-no-bueno]

@@modestrocker1 they should contact the united nations

[@ata.d1413]

@@shinobi-no-bueno I hate the antichrist

[@lessforloans]

That not why they have it. It is a predator thing.

[@cecileroy557]

This subject is fascinating - thanks!!!

[@davidrobinson5180]

Thank you for sharing about this book. The entire video was very informative. I don't mean to offend, but I'd like to make some alternative suggestions to some of your concluding remarks. At 15:40, you refer to the time the Israelites arrive on the scene. But that misses important details: 1) It equates the earliest mention of "Israel" in the Merneptah Stele (circa 1200BC) with their actual existence "on the scene", when, in reality, Semitic people were in Egypt since the 1800s, as the Ibscha Relief from the tomb of Khnumhotep II and Genesis show, 2) The "Shasu of Yahweh" inscription likewise shows Yahweh worshipping people known to Egypt at least as early as 1400, 3) the name "Israel" goes back to Jacob/Israel in Genesis, who was a descendant of Noah, who had an awareness of similar clean/unclean food in the ark story. To me, it looks like the growth of the population and influence of the post-flood descendants of Shem is a likely factor in the decline of pig eating.

[@adithalee8660]

I read in an article awhile back that they did a study and discovered that Pigs are really clean animals and that humans are the problem. They said they did a study in a review in which they had the Pigs to choose what food to go to eat and each time they chose vegetables, fruit, grass and they rejected the trash and filth and garbage. The scientists determined that Pigs weren't nasty but just like humans and other animals that if that's all you give them to eat is garbage and refuge then that's what they'll eat to survive.

[@LillyTheLonelySock]

I think I heard something similar. Thanks for mentioning it and explaining it here!

[@ladwaloncrownover8986]

Pigs are like catfish, are created to be bottom feeders. Have you seen a gorilla eating trash? How about a 🦒 giraffe eating trash? They eat heavenly foods that grow high in the trees and they don't carry disease, as well as, live longer life spans than Porky the pig.

[@LillyTheLonelySock]

@@ladwaloncrownover8986 I don't think they were created to be bottom feeders - they simply eat garbage because when we domesticated them that is what we gave them. It would probably be the same with many animals.

[@ladwaloncrownover8986]

@@LillyTheLonelySock you may be right. I should do more research before making such bold statements. I apologize and will look deeper into the matter.

[@twhitten828]

@@LillyTheLonelySock agreed...biars were here before humans gave them trash to eat.

[@bewton88]

Thanks for doing this channel. I am not at all a religious person but I do find things religion related fascinating. The whole, "why they do it" thing will never be boring.

[@themysticmuse1111]

This.

[@timq6224]

Why they do it. Ever wonder why the Roman Empire adopted christainity in the first place? It was far easier to force people to adhere to the teachings of a god they could only imagine than keeping people from climbing Mount Olympus.

[@irgendwer3610]

@@timq6224 well if you look at all the roman neighbors, they all lost their pagan religion or reformed it, this suggests that polytheism is (like animism) a stage in religions that civilizations need to overcome in some form. The persians created the dualistic system out of their pantheon, the indians created henotheism, the israelites created monotheism

[@itsytyt5192]

fa

[@fearnach]

@@irgendwer3610 Now, that is a bold assumption. The word "to overcome" suggests that monotheism is, in some way, superior to polytheism, when it is evident that this is simply an idea that had spread through Europe and parts of South-Western Asia by happenstance, comparable to language families-and I do want to point out that the Persian's dualism and the Indian's henotheism are still forms of polytheism, and Buddhism, by far one of the largest religions in the world, has no god at all. Much rather, the reason the Roman Empire adopted Christianity was quite simply the fact that Constantine the Great converted to Christianity himself due to a set of mostly personal circumstances, and did a significantly better job at convincing the Roman public-many of which already were Christians-to accept the religion than someone like Elagabalus did. Do note that the Western Roman Empire fell not 200 years later. Looking in the direction of East Asia and Africa also provides some clues that this is, indeed, not the case. China has been largely Buddhist and Taoist for much of its history, save for the Qing dynasty, with the former having, as previously mentioned, no god at all, and the latter being quite clearly polytheistic; and Japan has combined ideas of Buddhism and Shinto until the 19th century, with the latter having, by far, the largest number of deities in any recorded religion. And while yes, Shinto is much less popular than Buddhism there nowadays, this is a rather recent development that came with globalization, education and scientific advancement, with Buddhism being a lot easier to believe in as an educated individual due to making comparatively few attempts at explaining the natural world with metaphysics.

[@rohiggpress8740]

In keeping with your cost/benefit premise, I feel that a combination of environmental factors (drought, desertification, resource diminishment), combined with the socio-economic factors discussed here all served to create a catalyst point or tipping point... The destructive tendencies on the environment along with their instinctual rooting behaviour would IMO been the "straw that broke the temples patience" for pigs as it were. As water became a taxable resource, arable land settled into fewer and fewer hands, just imagine the conflicts of a poor farmer loosing control of his fencing and a "landowner" having his entire years income destroyed by the poor mans pigs...How many "bloodfeuds" and "clan wars" do you think the "Institutions" were willing to tolerate before they found a solution that could save face for everyone ? Just as in the details of the video...the pig perhaps became the vessel for the vices and filth of society, the source of "all our troubles" and then were banished from "popular use"... As time went further on, the scarcity of water prevented that type of livestock from having a foothold again. The cost/benefit was simply too high as our friend from Lebanon above had indicated...

[@ColKlink-pk9yx]

Fascinating video. Thank you. I've always wondered why pigs became such a taboo food source when they'd been a core source of food for millennia prior. Thank you 👍🇦🇺

[@KarlKarsnark]

I tend towards the theory that pigs are/have always been a little "too human" in both taste and temperament for many cultures. We even use them for human medical analogs today. If anything, having such a "prohibition" is a gift to the pigs who never had to worry about being led to slaughter. The proverbial blessing in disguise.

[@LakhnBer]

Again, um, how is it that you know that pork tastes like human flesh. Just wondering.

[@KarlKarsnark]

@@LakhnBer I read it in a books somewhere. Good ol' "long pig" tastes a treat! (I'm Veggie, IRL, but manflesh is big among Orc too, I hear)

[@bradleynoneofyourbizz5341]

@@LakhnBer Pig's molecular muscle structure is closer to human's than any other animal. Thus we can use pig heart valves in human hearts.

[@thatlittlehuman9238]

@@LakhnBer there is a famous Japanese cannibal, Issei Sagawa, who killed a girl and over the course of a few days ate pieces of her. Later when he confessed, he said that human flesh tastes like pork.

[@fadyalqaisy7550]

Pig was prohibited for its holiness not for its filth

[@Albukhshi]

@ 0:48 Aversion to pork was also common to Scottish highlanders. One regiment in America during the French and Indian War nearly starved because they wouldn't eat the pork rations provided (to their credit, the other units didn't take advantage of this, so when hunger got the better of them, the highlanders still had rations available).

[@miss42310]

Wait really! Gotta look this up

[@strawpiglet]

I read that the Kelts considered dogs and pigs closely related, and Cuchulain was forbidden to eat dog (and died after breaking that taboo) - I wonder if there's a correlation.

[@Albukhshi]

@@strawpiglet A connection here seems possible. The Scots did come from Ireland, so perhaps the taboo was native to Ireland and was introduced to what became Scotland.

[@user-bp5qz5jd3f]

In Chinese, there is an idiom (豬朋狗友) which literally translates to pig-dog friends. It means bad friends who influences you in a negative way. Although Chinese people consume a lot of pork and dog in the past and the present, and clearly never had any taboos towards pig and dogs, their views towards both of them are a mixed one. Pigs and dogs are still viewed somewhat negatively in Chinese culture. There's also "schwinehund" in German, which translates to "swine-hound", and it's often used as an insult. So yeah there may be some connections.

[@Albukhshi]

@@miss42310 Sorry for the delay, but yes, that happened in 1759. It was specifically the 2nd Battalion of the 42nd regiment that did this, while they were marching through the Mohawk River Valley. It wasn't the only example either: the newly-raised 77th and 78th regiments, while still in Scotland having been freshly raised in 1757, refused to eat the pork rations given to them. As a result, the bacon issued was just left to rot.

[@AgentM3tallion]

I keep pigs in my home. Got Porky laying right here beside me in her big fluffy bed right now. They're better than dogs, incredibly intelligent. Anything a dog can do, a pig can do better, in my experience. Shame our dog doesn't seem to like them... Got a 500lber, a 300lber and a 120lber. One mulehoof (non cloven hoof) a Kune Kune and a mini-pig hybrid that funily enough is the biggest of them. Fully litterbox trained as well.

[@festina_lente7655]

Those poor things.🤦

[@sandro2778]

Very interesting and informative video, worth watching. Thank you.

[@thaiphanvevo]

I met a Hindu once who ate meat but didn’t eat beef and made a grossed out face when I asked if he ate pork. Interesting!

[@Salsmachev]

Adding to the above, it's important to note that historical India was ruled by Muslims during several important periods, and that the early modern period of Mughal rule was especially influential in Indian cuisine as we now know it. Pork prohibitions among the Muslim ruling elite almost certainly contributed to its rarity in modern Indian food. Even moreso in the case of restaurant food, which is more directly linked to historical courtly food.

[@AmeshaSpentaArmaiti]

@Illuminatist he's supporting your point, dude.

[@debodatta7398]

@Bored The Vast majority of India was effectively under Muslim rule for over a millenia which leads to that lol, In fact the pork eating areas are the areas where the Muslism didn't really conquer (7 sisters regions and South India like the Coorgs, Southwestern Hindu Malayalis and Southeastern Hindu Tamils). Also Pork can be said to be a taboo in Hinduism since eating any meat was considered taboo and Brahmins had to be vegetarians or face being outcast and you can't enter temples if you've consumed meat that day or if you haven't ritually cleaned yourself after doing so.

[@kshatrapavan]

@Bored The dharmashāstras make a distinction between wild and domesticated pigs. Varāhas i.e. wild pigs are considered relatively clean and can also be hunted and eaten (depending on one's varna), while Vidvarāhas i.e. village pigs are deemed unclean. Wild pigs are still hunted and eaten in parts of India by some otherwise mainstream traditional Hindus. Now since hunting has become uncommon even the distinction has faded, and so even otherwise meat eating Hindus would hesitate eating wild pigs.

[@fgtrhwu2]

@@kshatrapavan Do you think the Mughal rule over india did indeed cause pork to be absent from modern indian dishes?

[@hollyhartwick3832]

I think that ancient Jewish text referring to the pig as "unclean" is a big telltale. Their propensity for eating garbage and rolling in mud (as the ancients likely didn't understand that pigs can't sweat and roll in mud for temperature and pest control) would have seen them as filthy beasts. One thing to note, though, is that while pigs may be the best known prohibition to the modern layman, it was far from the only creature considered "unclean". Carnivores and shellfish, for example, also fell into this category. Many seafood creatures enjoyed today, such as oysters, clams, mussels, snails (a la escargot), shrimp, and lobster were also considered equally taboo. The horse meat popular in many parts of the world, off-limits. Same with wild game other than ruminants like deer, elk, etc. Since bacon, ham, and pork chops are very popular in the modern world, pigs get a lot of the attention here, but it goes far beyond that.

[@thefongz2931]

Really interesting video. I was expecting it to be a one-line answer drawn out over half an hour but it really does need thorough historical context to get a handle on.

[@countrywinggroupofcompanie6182]

Very educative, thanks for the handwork.

[@cadencevancel959]

My mom has recently had an issue with a neighbor who owns livestock and lives down the street from her whose pig has been getting out lately and coming chill in my moms yard. Now, my mom didn’t really perse have an “issue”, she named the pig Pablo and made sure he was safe from her dogs but he looked exactly the pig on this thumbnail. (I just gotta say my mom was FaceTiming me telling me how cute he was and worrying for his safety she’s so sweet

[@Blurb777]

Candence - You have a great mom!! You are truly blessed!

[@josephcelestine3656]

Your mom's sweet or the pig? I thought pigs were salty. This is what happens when you don't use commas!

[@kakalimukherjee3297]

@@josephcelestine3656 Haha true. She meant her mom, 'coz Pablo is a boy

[@rustynails8756]

Your Mom sounds fabulous thanks for sharing made me grin

[@harrietharlow9929]

Bless your other. Glad to see she loves animals!

[@NotHPotter]

Religion for breakfast, but definitely not bacon today. Any chance you'll follow this up with discussion of the shellfish prohibition?

[@typograf62]

@@scottgrohs5940 Yeah, but it has become rare here (Denmark). Unfortunately.

[@MusicalRaichu]

obvious! who would eat anything slimy and smelly that looks like a nasal discharge ... :-) yes i'd like to know about some of those other food rules too.

[@TeymurKhan571]

Its because Abu hanifa lived in Afghanistan and shellfish werent in afghanistan so

[@Philly_Jump_Over_The_Fence]

That could be a high land - low land(near sea) thing similar to the pig upper kingdom vs lower kingdom.

[@yancylevy5779]

@@typograf62 Føtex has it 🙃

[@elessartelcontar9415]

During the Great Depression, pork was called "city chicken" and it was popular as it was not expensive.

[@truthseeker000000]

This is such an informative video based on the historical context and reasons as to why the Mid-East region doesn't consume much ore these days.

[@TheFalconerNZ]

When I was in my mid teens my metalwork teacher gave us a warning as we were learning about melting & casting aluminium that a coworker in his past had spilled molten aluminium onto himself and it smelt like burning pork. Later I personally learnt that badly burnt flesh looks like cooked pork & now we are using pig organs, or parts of, as organ replacements in humans due to compatibility so I have often wondered if this similarity in our biology & the possibility of crossover diseases was the reason for the ban.

[@earthangel2522]

I have often thought that the compatibility factor was perhaps the MAIN reason for God's prohibition of eating their flesh. The saying "You are what you eat" comes to mind. When I lived in Iowa ("the pork capital of the world"), I often remarked that people -- who tended to be morbidly obese and who ate a lot of port -- took on the physical characteristics of pigs. They look like pigs standing upright. Even their eyes have a "piggy" shape and their cheeks and noses as well as their hips and thighs have the same configuration as the pig. They look like HYBRIDS of humanoid and pig.

[@saenekokun2723]

@@earthangel2522 that sounds so scary 💀

[@curtismelton_4_8_15]

actually if you look at all the animals on the scriptural "not fit for human consumption list, they are all scavengers, or bottom feeders, or clean up the environment of poisons, for example clams. The Birds are the predators primarily that eat rodents, snakes , or in the case of vultures, roadkill. So the saying, garbage in, garage out... if you eat an animal designed to eat garbage, you are eating garbage second hand... But for pork, it is parasites that's the problem primarily,

[@chris_vandepeer]

@@curtismelton_4_8_15 Same as chicken if you die in front of one it will eat you. If you keep farm fowl make sure you keep them away from dogs as they will eat there poop.

[@ms.annthrope415]

Ancient peoples are not aware of parasites so it couldn't be any sort of sanitary reasons for prohibition on pork. They have no understanding or even conception that pig organs can be used in humans. Just religious ignorance.

[@VincenzOmaha]

Your Vulcan eyebrow raise let's me know that you've approached your analysis in a logical fashion. Live long and prosper.

[@elibreezy]

lol

[@kai_fatallysapphic]

Fascinating

[@TheGospelnut]

🖖

[@Sparkypark]

Answer to the video - it’s because it is so tasty (I’m a current vegetarian). It isn’t eaten by those who are not worthy. (Which I guess is me now).

[@penhullwolf5070]

A Priest and a Rabbi find themselves sat next to each other on a long haul flight. They chat amicably for a while before the Priest asks "I understand your faith forbids eating pork but have you never succumbed to the temptation of a bacon sandwich?" The Rabbi smiles shyly and admits that on more than one occasion his diet has been less than Kosher. The Rabbi then asks the Priest "I know that as a Priest you are forbidden to know the touch of a woman but surely you too must have given in to temptation?" The Priest blushes before confessing that as a younger man he had more than once been intimate with a woman. The two pause for several seconds of silent reflection before the Rabbi says....... "Better than bacon isn't it?"

[@festina_lente7655]

That was funny😒

[@KingfisherTalkingPictures]

I didn’t know the Philistines were a Greek-related culture. I love stories of the bronze-age collapse.

[@stuckupcurlyguy]

I think it's speculated that their name relates to Peleset, which were one of the Sea Peoples mentioned in Egyptian descriptions of those invaders.

[@luluflu1140]

Apparently they were greeks in Palestine even before the bronze age collapse : kzbin.info/www/bejne/poOrlaSFh5xlj8U

[@lufhopespeacefully2037]

do u read quran king

[@nightprowler6336]

@@luluflu1140 Palestine didn't exist back then.

[@andeve3]

It also wasn't called "Philistia", but rather Pleshet, Pilistu, Palastu etc. (probably related to "pelasgós"), and the greek name "Palaistínē" came from those older names.

[@Cor6196]

When I was a child in the early fifties, there was a "swill bucket" buried in the ground outside our tenement - it was covered by a heavy iron lid. Every day someone in my family - or from our neighbors - would take out the scraps from that day's meals, step on the "lever" that lifted the lid, and throw in the leftovers - never very much because no food was wasted right after the war. Once or twice a week, the pig farmer would come into town and empty the swill bucket onto his truck. Free food for his pigs!

[@nunyabiznes33]

Reminded me off some pig raisers in my town. Pigs can really be free food.

[@jayc1139]

Reminds me of the video series ''war time farm'', they do the same thing there.

[@modestrocker1]

in northern vermont this is a way of having a stake in a pig. you provide slop and once its slaughtered you get a cut of the meat. barter economies are very important in rural areas of the united states.

[@Judge_Magister]

We still do this in the Netherlands, especially swill from restaurants etc

[@oscargordon]

In college, my fraternity had a food waste bucket and once a week a guy in a truck labeled "The Big Pig" took it away.

[@franklin3271]

Dude did his homework. Respect.

[@jackstrubbe7608]

Passing this on to a good friend who happens to be an organic pig farmer!

[@shieldwolf8096]

You sir have to be the best guy ever to explain these topics! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I learning so much!!!

[@johncipolletti5611]

As a former farm worker and a history buff, I'll give you some information. Many people were wanderers. Especially thebJrws. Simply, you can herd sheep but it is almost impossible to herd pigs. The early Jews knew this. Muslims may also have known this but might have taken the taboo from the Jews. Hey, do you know in the Jewish Torah, you are not allowed to eat shell fish but you can eat GRASSHOPPERS. Why? Those fish are bottom feeders and take in a lot of poison from the water. In many living areas thousands of years ago, most garbage and crap went into the water. Grasshoppers (locust) eat vegetables. They are also 90% protein. So they are a healthier food source.

[@joshk.6246]

Pigs do produce milk(mammal), we just don't collect their milk as a practice.

[@robertl4551]

I have a lot of Muslim friends who tried Pork for first time and they LOVE it.

[@paintedweasels]

I always imagined that the ancients were very familiar with what comes to feed on the corpses after a huge battle with bodies scattered for miles sometimes, I'm sure wild pigs ate anything back then as they do now. Better safe than sorry, wouldn't want to eat a creature that grew up on the flesh of your enemies or kin.

[@VTSifuSteve]

What've you got against recycling?

[@davidioanhedges]

You mean like Sheep Cows Goats all of which will eat meat if easily and readily available ... almost no animal is strictly vegetarian ....

[@michaelbooth2890]

@john heiskell It does.

[@potatoenthusiast2393]

@@michaelbooth2890 ay yo😳

[@godefroiddebouillon7769]

But the ancients mostly ate pork, so your argument doesn't stand. The pork taboo is a Middle Eastern thing, everywhere else in the world pigs have been raised and eaten for millenia. The only societies that have a pork taboo nowadays are societies that have been islamized at some point in the past. Besides, any animal (sheep, cow, chicken...) will feed on animal flesh (including human) if readily available. Pigs are no exceptions in that matter.

[@monkeyship74401]

I have always misunderstood most of Leviticus, BUT, most of the "dietary" rules make a lot of sense in an age where refrigeration and food safety inspections aren't available. Shellfish is more likely to go bad than almost any other seafood. Fish with scales dry and salt more easily than those without. And Pork has more parasites (and has similar susceptabilites to human disease)(I really can't spell today.) than other animals Goat and Cow are least likely to transmit to humans as well. That said, in the modern world with refrigeration food is easier to preserve and is "safer" than in ancient times. Past that, I am probably a heretic in more than one religion so at least I have that going for me.

[@joek600]

There are many dangerous types of food (mushrooms, certain kinds of fish, grass etc) around the mediterranean but nobody bothered to make them a religious taboo. Also there are places around Israel with very similar climate where people eat pork since forever. For example Greece, Cyprus, Syria and all the Asia Minor.

[@wednesdayschild3627]

My mom was from Italy. They salted pork and ate a lot of pork. They were never sick from that. They were poor so pork a d fish was their meat. They used olive oil but lard was way cheaper.

[@JWPanimation]

Pork I understand, but shell fish for a culture on the Mediterranean has me a bit flummoxed.

[@wednesdayschild3627]

@@JWPanimation I believe the shell fish was on a coin perhaps associated with a god. It is possible that was also poor people food so associated with poverty. Shrimp eat garbage. So the poor slaves eat the worst foods too.

[@vickcelino326]

They said pork taste almost like human flesh. That's what a cannibals says. And when i look at cut of pork belly, it looks very close to human skin. But don't let me stop you from what you want to eat.

[@Gracievision]

first class video. thank you.

[@anomonyous]

"Hey, hey, Ezekiel, add pork to the list too." "Why?" "I don't know, I just think it's funny. You know how those Northerners love it so much. Imagine if people actually followed that rule." "Isaiah, you're a fn genius." -History, probably.

[@tinashe3753]

Mark 7: 18- 19,