# Can Jews and Moslems drink milk from pigs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 4, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207 "2006-07-04T21:40:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/1 "2006-07-04T21:40:33Z")
Obviously, physically they can, but is pigs’ milk kosher or halal? ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/2 "2006-07-04T21:51:56Z")
Nope… kosher milk only comes from kosher animals. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/3 "2006-07-04T22:00:50Z")
And to extend that answer, nothing that is made from or derived from a pig in any way can be kosher or halal. If you were to boil’s pig’s feet and make gelatin (if that’s possible) the gelatin would not be kosher. Pigs are absolutely untouchable as a source of food. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/4 "2006-07-05T20:51:25Z")
Exapno: > [@](#): > > If you were to boil’s pig’s feet and make gelatin (if that’s possible) the gelatin would not be kosher. Actually, that’s not completely true. If one were to use only the pig’s bones, and be scrupulously certain that there was no meat attached to them, I’m pretty sure the result would be Kosher. The problem with commercial gelatin, of course, is that it’s not only bone that’s used. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/5 "2006-07-05T20:59:24Z")
What about the bone marrow? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/6 "2006-07-05T21:22:17Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Actually, that’s not completely true. If one were to use only the pig’s bones, and be scrupulously certain that there was no meat attached to them, I’m pretty sure the result would be Kosher. The problem with commercial gelatin, of course, is that it’s not only bone that’s used. So calcium from pig’s bones would be considered kosher? No matter how you split hairs, so to speak, that would surprise me. However, I was referring to food products in my answer and minerals would not technically fall under that category. ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/7 "2006-07-05T21:53:04Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Exapno: > Actually, that’s not completely true. If one were to use only the pig’s bones, and be scrupulously certain that there was no meat attached to them, I’m pretty sure the result would be Kosher. Where did you get this from? I have a devout Muslim friend here and he states he has never heard of such a thing. You have a cite? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/8 "2006-07-05T22:09:30Z")
> [@FormerMarineGuy](#): > > Where did you get this from? I have a devout Muslim friend here and he states he has never heard of such a thing. You have a cite? Your friend would be familiar with the rules of Halal which are similar but not exactly the same as Kosher. ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/9 "2006-07-05T22:34:30Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Your friend would be familiar with the rules of Halal which are similar but not exactly the same as Kosher. Yes, but Halal does not state pig is authorized in any form to eat. It basically covers the methods that certain foods are allowed to be eaten. For example, my friend here will not eat hamburgers from McDonalds because they are not slaughtered in accordance with Halal, but he will go to his local butcher and buy cow’s meat. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/10 "2006-07-05T22:52:09Z")
> [@FormerMarineGuy](#): > > Yes, but Halal does not state pig is authorized in any form to eat. I apologize for not being clear. **cmkeller** is an Othodox Jew and was answering the question from that perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/11 "2006-07-06T00:43:25Z")
Some authorities do maintain that gelatin from non-kosher animals can be kosher, because during the intermediary rendering process the material stops being food at all, and thus apparently maintains no memory of its origins. But I believe that other authorities disagree; at any rate, **cmkeller** ’s answer jibes with my own limited knowledge of the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/12 "2006-07-06T03:20:23Z")
All I know about the rules of Halal, I learned from Gummi Bears. Years ago, during the Mad Cow stuff in Europe, the Gummi Bear people announced that Gummi Bears were safe as they only used gelatin made from pig ones. After a few days, they announced that Gummi Bears for the Middle East are made only of beef bones. Oh yeah, those two products have never been mixed up on the loading dock. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/13 "2006-07-06T04:04:25Z")
Hell no, they can’t drink pigs’ milk. No pigs means no pigs. This includes mere physical contact. BTW, Kosher and the less restrictive Halal laws are actually quite complex, much more so than no pigs and no mixing milk and meat. The ritualistic slaughter of animals, for example, doesn’t allow the animal to suffer (this precludes hunting, so animals must be raised), or to witness the slaughter of another animal, or to be slaughtered after it has been beaten, gored by horns, or to be eaten if it has been in a fight or has fallen from a great height. The slaughtered animal must be an herbivore (predators are not allowed). It goes on and on… ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/14 "2006-07-06T06:53:17Z")
If I might be permitted a minor hijack, I’ve often wondered about the Jewish dietary restriction whereby it’s not permissable to eat meat and cheese as part of the same dish- something about not boiling a kid in it’s mother’s milk, as I understand it. But how would this apply if, for example, the cheese was from New Zealand and the meat was from the US? There’d be no chance at all of the two animals concerned being related… And what about Goat Cheese and Beef Meat, or Regular Cheese and Goat Meat? Hey, it’s not like there are any Jewish people (that I know of) around here to ask… ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/15 "2006-07-06T07:20:49Z")
> [@cainxinth](#): > > Nope… kosher milk only comes from kosher animals. With one notable exception… Grim 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/16 "2006-07-06T07:32:26Z")
> [@FormerMarineGuy](#): > > Yes, but Halal does not state pig is authorized in any form to eat. It basically covers the methods that certain foods are allowed to be eaten. Halal refers to both which animals are permitted for food, and also the method of slaughter of permitted animals. It is categorically said that pigs are not to be eaten: > [@](#): > > Forbidden to you is that which dies of itself, and blood, and **flesh of swine** , and that on which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked, and the strangled (animal) and that beaten to death, and that killed by a fall and that killed by being smitten with the horn, and that which wild beasts have eaten, except what you slaughter, and what is sacrificed on stones set up (for idols) and that you divide by the arrows; that is a transgression. This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me. This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion; but whoever is compelled by hunger, not inclining willfully to sin, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (Chapter 5, Verse 3) Basically, the foods that are considered haram (i.e. not fit for consumption) , are things that have died naturally, been killed in a fight, pigs, anything over which anything other than the name of Allah has been said, anything that died from a fall, or was beaten, or strangled, or gored by horns, or things that wild beasts have eaten. Further, anything slaughtered on a pagan altar is forbidden, and anything that you hunt with an arrow. However, if you’re dying of hunger, you can eat these things, and you’ll be forgiven. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/17 "2006-07-06T10:03:20Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > and anything that you hunt with an arrow. I thought that meant the custom of dividing the meat by the casting of arrows. That is the ancient fortune-telling technique (now forbidden) of throwing arrows over the shoulder to divine the future. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/18 "2006-07-06T12:38:52Z")
> [@Martini Enfield](#): > > If I might be permitted a minor hijack, I’ve often wondered about the Jewish dietary restriction whereby it’s not permissable to eat meat and cheese as part of the same dish- something about not boiling a kid in it’s mother’s milk, as I understand it. > > But how would this apply if, for example, the cheese was from New Zealand and the meat was from the US? There’d be no chance at all of the two animals concerned being related… > > And what about Goat Cheese and Beef Meat, or Regular Cheese and Goat Meat? > > Hey, it’s not like there are any Jewish people (that I know of) around here to ask… Having been raised in a Kosher home, maybe I can give this perspective… You have hit upon a main issue with Kosher- it’s not about logical explanations of obscure dietary restrictions- it’s about philosophy and faith. My mother’s understanding of Kashrut is like this- we folow these rules because they elevate our humanity. Animals will eat anything they come across. Humans should be deliberate and thoughtful as to what we eat, how we prepare it and how we eat it. By doing so it raises us above animals towards thinking introspective humans. The rules may have been developed at a time when you were eating from the local food supply, and now we are not, but the \*philosophy \* underlying the development of those rules still applies. My family was not the biggest Kosher sticklers for all the subtle bits of the rules, and truth be told even different synagogues and Rabbinical oversight groups will have difference opinions about what is OK and what is not. For example, our conservative synagogue has a more rigid implementation of Kashrut than the reform temple down the road, but more lax than another conservative synagogue in a neighboring town. ;j And now I’m an athiest who doesn’t keep kosher. So there you go. But I know that I carry many of the philosophical explanations of the “rules” of Judiasm and they influence my secular bul ethical and spiritual life. OK, hijack off! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/19 "2006-07-06T14:58:17Z")
> [@Martini Enfield](#): > > If I might be permitted a minor hijack, I’ve often wondered about the Jewish dietary restriction whereby it’s not permissable to eat meat and cheese as part of the same dish- something about not boiling a kid in it’s mother’s milk, as I understand it. > > But how would this apply if, for example, the cheese was from New Zealand and the meat was from the US? There’d be no chance at all of the two animals concerned being related… > > And what about Goat Cheese and Beef Meat, or Regular Cheese and Goat Meat? > > Hey, it’s not like there are any Jewish people (that I know of) around here to ask… Still no, at least for Orthodox Jews. It’s because that prohibition is mentioned thrice in the OT. No, I am not Jewish, but I have seen the answer several times. I think there is some looseness combining Fowl or Fish and dairy? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207/20 "2006-07-06T15:04:45Z")
Fish is pareve, a term which means neutral, and thus can be eaten with dairy. [What is Kosher](http://www.siks.org/whatiskosher.html) has a good quick summary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-jews-and-moslems-drink-milk-from-pigs/363207.md?page=2)