But where do these limitations come from? What is the explanation for these prohibitions? Over the centuries there have been numerous and diverse attempts to explain the reasons for these Biblical sets of rules, ranging from the anthropologic to the economic, from the symbolic to animalistic, from the health conscious to the ecologic. The practice of kashrut could be considered an exercise to fortify oneself through following a very rigid, symbolic (and incomprehensible) set of rules, or a way for Hebrews to distinguish themselves from the rest of the human beings (again the symbolism of the Elected descent). Otherwise, you could more cynically embrace the theory according to which the choice of allowed foods and the careful sanitary check on the meat have a hygienic purpose to avoid diseases carried by animals, especially in an environment, the desert, where storing conditions may not be optimal. But then why are cows and sheep allowed, and pork isn't? Pigs had the further disadvantage of contributing to the desertification of the territory because with their eating of acorns they were preventing the growth of new trees. The Bible, let's not forget, is essentially the history of a population and its struggle for the possession of the land.
There is, of course, the believer's justification to anything explained in the sacred texts: because God said so.
Jews do not eat shellfish either. I love them, but must admit that, with all my open mindness, I loathe the image of fried insects on sale on the streets of Bangkok. Are they not crawly, horrible/graceful looking, 4-6-8 legged little animals too? The same considerations should be made for the cuy (a sort of guinea pig that is roasted and served whole – teeth and ears included – in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia) and the roasted wild pigeons that my Grannie has cooked for my birthday for years: they are both disgusting to look at when they land on your plate, but while I have no problems in sucking and picking meat from the latter, I barely touched the Andean rat I ordered in Cuzco!
Irish and British people cringe when we say so, but Italians do eat rabbit (“Bugs Bunny?!” a foreign colleague of mine asked me – horrified – while I was translating an Italian menu a few years ago) and horse. In Catania I had the most fantastic experie
nce: on the streets of the old city, at night, butchers set up makeshift barbeques in front of their shops and people 'queue' (like only Italians can …) to get horse meat hamburgers seasoned with oregano, fresh lemon juice and olive oil! Horsemeat, after all, is supposed to be a good source of iron and many thalassaemics [Thalassaemia is a type of hereditary disorder characterized by low production and over distruction of haemoglobin. The beta form of the disease typically occurs in people of mediterrenean origins] obviously do take advantage of these healthy and tax evading 'fast food' outlets!
One more interesting alimentary twist is the smoked cat pie author James Hamilton-Paterson describes in his hilarious novel Cooking with Fernet Branca. The book is actually a very entertaining and intelligent satire of the British living in Tuscany, and the recipe is not an original one, just a pretext, but Hamilton-Paterson has no problems admitting to Andrew Lawless that in the Philippines he did sample, many times, feline meat. In a vast area of Eastern Asia, it is actually quite common to eat cats and/or dogs. Mind you, when I say quite common, it should really be intended as 'traditionally accepted': in reality, the daily staple for most of the population is rather rice and vegetables. While I myself would probably reluctantly eat Lassie or Rin Tin Tin look-alikes, I respect whoever would. Whilst I was researching this article, I came across some unpleasant comments in animal rights discussion forums on the Internet, veiled with racism towards some Asian populations that are known to eat what in the West are more normally known as pets. Although anyone who was to mistreat animals or brutally kill them is unquestionably condemnable, is eating a cat or a dog any worse than eating any other type of 'socially' not so cute animal (pigs? cows? chickens?) while at the same time keeping pets locked all day and alone in a flat or – worse – wearing furs and leather because it's fashionable And, according to Hamilton-Paterson, cats are killed, smoked and cooked in some areas of Northern Italy and Switzerland, for instance, making the habit not an oriental exoticism, but rather a custom linked to food availability and population's scarce means.
To revert to meat eating restrictions: Hinduism does not allow its converts to eat cows, which are as a matter of fact considered sacred and must be respected to the point that Indians would rather starve than kill one of their mooing divinities. Most Hindus, and, as a consequence, most Buddhists, are actually complete vegetarians, although their respective sacred books do not contain any relevant clues on the subject. Anthropologically I suppose it makes sense to link this commandment to the fact that all a cow's by-products, from its milk to its dung, have a highly revered usage, from the alimentary to the combustible; and to the religious sphere itself: the purified butter obtained from the milk, ghee, is the basis of most sacrificial ceremonies as well as purification rites. Hindus revere the cow as a motherly figure that gives to its children, therefore it'd be sinful to even think to kill her.
On the other side of the universe are the Argentineans: try and ask them to give up their Sunday asados, and they would look at you in bewilderment! The Argentinean barbeque is a feast for the carnivores: one of my favourite restaurants in Buenos Aires is called 'Siga la vaca' (Follow the cow), where for a fixed price you can queue as many times as your stomach, arteries and kidneys allow to fill yourself with barbequed cow portions, including black pudding, veal intestine, kidneys, udder, testicles, sweetbreads, tripe, … Vegetarians would definitely have a hard life in Buenos Aires, or in Italy, for that matter, where even the concept of “no meat, thanks” is still cause for misunderstandings.