Food and Religion

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

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Many of the features that shape dietary habits are derived from religious laws. All over the world many people choose to eat or avoid certain foods according to their religious belief. Is your diet affected by your religious beliefs? What do you think about religious taboos concerning food?

Here are some of the major religions and a brief look at how they impact eating habits:

Buddhism
Buddhism considers living beings to be sacred, a belief that has translated into widely practiced vegetarianism and veganism.
Christianity
Food regulations differ from one Christian denomination or group to another, with some groups not observing any restrictions at all. Some fasting days are observed by Catholic and Orthodox Christians on certain days such as Good Friday or during Lent.
Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the most ancient religions in the world and, although meat was not originally prohibited, many Hindus today regard vegetarianism as a way to maintain the respect observed for life.
Islam
The main food practices in Islam involve specific ritual slaughtering procedures for animals of consumption (halal meat) (haram practices), fasting during the month of Ramadan, the avoidance of pork and of intoxicating liquor.
 
You forgot the big one. The Jewish community who have very strict dietary laws that are listed in the Koran, and in the Old Testament of the bible.

As for me, no I don't but when I went to Catholic School, I tried to observe Fish on all Fridays. Now that only applies during lent. Mom would always tell me I wasn't Catholic.
 
Canon Law still requires that Catholics not eat meat on Fridays.

Which is why McDonalds created the fillet o'fish sandwich for Fridays.
 
A lady who used to work with us was Jain so she did not eat garlic or onions 'because they are bad for the brain' and no meat because she was vegetarian however she was a serious chocoholic. One of the most selfless people I have ever met.
 
I visited Khon Kaen in Thailand with a Muslim friend from Kuala Lumpur back in 1996. We arranged to meet for breakfast the first morning and when I arrived I found him tucking into bacon and eggs. I asked him what on earth he was doing and his response was to point out that the Quoran permitted the consumption of pork if that is all there is. I explained that there were many foods at the buffet which were not pork and his response was "Yes but I like bacon".

:unsure::unsure:
 
Yorky said:
I visited Khon Kaen in Thailand with a Muslim friend from Kuala Lumpur back in 1996. We arranged to meet for breakfast the first morning and when I arrived I found him tucking into bacon and eggs. I asked him what on earth he was doing and his response was to point out that the Quoran permitted the consumption of pork if that is all there is. I explained that there were many foods at the buffet which were not pork and his response was "Yes but I like bacon".

:unsure::unsure:
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One of my old bosses was Jewish. He used to send me out every day to get him ham sandwiches. One day his wife came into the office at lunch time. All hell broke loose :o_o:
 
I am not religious but I respect other people's beliefs and religious laws. What tickles me is the big row that goes on over here whenever halal meat is mentioned. Most people don't seem to realise that most of the meat from the large supermarkets (including New Zealand lamb) is halal now and that most animals here in the UK are pre-stunned, unlike those we used to have when I was a young girl. None of the animals that we owned were stunned before slaughter, although Mum and Dad were a dab hand at slaughtering and it was very, very quick. One of my neighbours said she would rather eat Kosher meat than halal meat any day, not realising that Kosher meat and halal are very similar. Also most meat is hung for a reason. I can no longer stand cooking or eating meat that is swimming in blood and prefer meat that has been hung like we used to (you should have seen our kitchen at Christmas!).

I refused to eat a meal in a restaurant not so long ago because the meat was very bloody - a friend insisted on going there because their meat was guaranteed not halal, and was completely put off a chicken I once ordered at a local farm because "that chicken was running round the farm yard this morning. Can't get fresher than that".

As far as I am concerned, religious laws were there for a logical reason. Many Asian religions in particular think that dogs are unclean and will not touch them. These same Asians come from countries where rabies is/was rife. And even here certain foods (such as pork) were only eaten in months with an "R" in them because meat could not be stored safely and hygienically in the summer months (which have no "R" in them), bearing in mind that in those days most homes would not have a fridge and a lot of small butchers shops didn't either.
 
My first time in China (Shekou c. 1997) I passed a shop which because it had cats and dogs in cages outside, I believed was a pet shop.

I discovered it was a restaurant.

I didn't visit.
 
Yorky said:
My first time in China (Shekou c. 1997) I passed a shop which because it had cats and dogs in cages outside, I believed was a pet shop.

I discovered it was a restaurant.

I didn't visit.
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Don't blame you, although the fiancée of one of my friends inadvertently had cat once but they didn't discover that until she had the bone removed from her throat at a local hospital, and two of our local Chinese takeaways were closed down only a few years ago because a Council inspection discovered a large Alsatian in one of their freezers and a large quantity of gold fish in the kitchen of the other. I had a beef curry once from the one where the Alsatian was found. It tasted strange, and I gave it to the dog but she wouldn't eat it either :headshake:
 
I am a Christian [church of England to be exact] but I have no problem with other peoples beliefs or practices [all the more pork pies and steak left for me] However I raise some points out of curiosity.
1 - ALL things can be called 'living' and that includes plants - because it doesn't go moo or bah doesn't mean it isn't alive. To eat means to kill
2 - Many of the old practices [draining the blood] have little use now - the diseases it once carried are largely a thing of the past.
3 - Pork - similar to the above really [ pigs were prone to eating waste - ALL kinds of waste :eek: and were thus an important part of the life cycle of many parasites] and also the benefits avoiding it gave an early people are also thus largely in the past.
As I say each to their own but I do wonder if some of the 'rules' are simply hangovers from a long gone age.
Elawin said:
"that chicken was running round the farm yard this morning. Can't get fresher than that".
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All chicken was alive at one point so not sure why this would be a problem [assuming it was cooked properly] after all if it was running around a farmyard at least it had had a reasonable life.
 
morning glory said:
Buddhism
Buddhism considers living beings to be sacred, a belief that has translated into widely practiced vegetarianism and veganism.
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Having lived in a country which is basically Buddhist for more than 16 years this is not generally correct. Many Thai Buddhists do not eat beef (in fact my wife stopped eating beef 2 years ago - I don't know why) but whilst they respect life it doesn't stop them eating meat, fish, seafood, insects, frogs, snakes, rats, etc., anything!
 
Yorky said:
Having lived in a country which is basically Buddhist for more than 16 years this is not generally correct. Many Thai Buddhists do not eat beef (in fact my wife stopped eating beef 2 years ago - I don't know why) but whilst they respect life it doesn't stop them eating meat, fish, seafood, insects, frogs, snakes, rats, etc., anything!
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I was just quoting from a website... but I suppose it does say 'translated into widely practised' whatever that might mean!
 
sidevalve said:
All chicken was alive at one point so not sure why this would be a problem [assuming it was cooked properly] after all if it was running around a farmyard at least it had had a reasonable life.
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I had chicken that fresh once before. It was bloody. Admitted not flowing blood as it had been cooked properly, but still obviously cooked blood. I like my meat hung and drained.
 
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