The Hebrew and Moslem prohibition against pork does make sense if you
look at the environments where these religions developed. The Biblical
lands are generally arid pastures and the early Hebrew were a semi-nomadic
people who raised goats, sheep and cattle. These animals could be herded
with relative ease and could be milked. These animals could survive solely
on grasses.
Pigs are a totally different story. Pigs are not herd animals. You cannot
easily milk a pig. Pigs do not live in arid environments and most importantly
they eat the same things people do. They compete with man for scarce
resources in arid climates.
The same applies to the Moslem prohibition against alcohol (Not good in
the desert), the Hindu prohibition against eating cows (eating your beast of
burden when times are hard may get you through one bad year but you'll
surely starve next year).
If any of this stuff seems interesting check out Marvin Harris's "Cows, Pigs,
Wars & Witches. The Riddles of Culture". I found it to be a real eye-opener.
A lot of religion can be summed up by what I call the Harris principle:
"The greater the temptation- the greater the need for divine interdiction."
Tom Schutte
Tjs6511@uncwil.edu