Was there a practical rationale behind some cultures' avoidance to pork/meat of swines?
When it comes to the spread of disease, it can hardly be said that swines beat cows or sheep in its proneness to spreading disease.
I've discussed with my friends and they come out with three explanations:
1) Pigs' habit of bathing in mud gives people the impression that they are dirty, even though it's the swines' own method of keeping clean. (Mr.C)
2) Probably, pigs, as omnivores, eats everything they get from their feeders. And thus the "preparation of swine food"(stockpiling of dirty garbage) increases the chance of pandemic diseases in crowded Semitic cities without proper sewage system, like Ancient Jerusalem or Ancient Mecca. (me)
3) Swine's diet overlaps with that of humans, as both could consume roots, fruits, flowers, corn and soybeans. So in societies where resources are scarce, like the ancient near east, feeding the pigs by the wealthy means taking food away from the poor. Therefore they developed the pork taboo to avoid contentions between social classes. (Mr. L)
When it comes to the spread of disease, it can hardly be said that swines beat cows or sheep in its proneness to spreading disease.
I've discussed with my friends and they come out with three explanations:
1) Pigs' habit of bathing in mud gives people the impression that they are dirty, even though it's the swines' own method of keeping clean. (Mr.C)
2) Probably, pigs, as omnivores, eats everything they get from their feeders. And thus the "preparation of swine food"(stockpiling of dirty garbage) increases the chance of pandemic diseases in crowded Semitic cities without proper sewage system, like Ancient Jerusalem or Ancient Mecca. (me)
3) Swine's diet overlaps with that of humans, as both could consume roots, fruits, flowers, corn and soybeans. So in societies where resources are scarce, like the ancient near east, feeding the pigs by the wealthy means taking food away from the poor. Therefore they developed the pork taboo to avoid contentions between social classes. (Mr. L)