# Is there any factual basis to pork being "dirty" compared to other meats? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208 "2018-03-26T15:52:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/21 "2018-03-26T19:52:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ve heard the theory that the real underlying reason for the widespread opposition to pork is ecological. Pigs (and dogs) are, as several people have noted, omnivorous. They essentially will eat the same food as people eat. So they’re competition for food resources. > > So while pork is tasty it’s a bad deal for your society if people are raising pigs. So societies develop a belief that eating pork is forbidden. They stop raising pigs and people have more food to eat. As has been pointed out, that’s not a general reason for a pork taboo, since this is pretty much limited to the Middle East in origin. I’m not aware of other cultures that prohibit pork (although some sources allege there might have been one in Scotland before 1800 AD). And although there is a lot of arid land in the Middle East, there are plenty of places with adequate food and water and it was one of the first places in the world with settled agriculture. Even in the Middle East, pigs were common domestic animals up until 1,000 BC. It’s been proposed that they became disfavored after that [through competition with chickens](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-ate-pork-middle-east-until-1000-bcwhat-changed-180954614/) as a more efficient and easier to handle source of meat. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Mills](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@Mister\_Mills](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Mills)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/22 "2018-03-26T19:59:20Z")
Pigs are walking trash cans, and if you have ever smelled and seen slop, you might not eat any more bacon. A pig will eat just about anything, including its own small young, when it is in an eating frenzy. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/23 "2018-03-26T20:04:01Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > That’s just way too broad a statement to apply to all, or even most, human societies/locations Who said it applied to all, or even most, human societies/locations? There are obviously many societies, including ours, which have no problems with pigs or dogs. We happen to live in an economy that produces copious amounts of food and have no problem using it to feed animals. But in other societies, food production has been more marginal. Feeding food to a pig or a dog often means that there’s a person somewhere going hungry. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/24 "2018-03-26T20:12:19Z")
> [@Mister\_Mills](#): > > A pig will eat just about anything, including its own small young, when it is in an eating frenzy. “We ain’t seen so much excitement around here since the hog ate baby sister!” > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But in other societies, food production has been more marginal. Feeding food to a pig or a dog often means that there’s a person somewhere going hungry. Pretty much all societies keep dogs, or at least tolerate them around, even if they are considered unclean. Dogs only get fed if there is excess food. And as for pigs, as has been said, it’s only one region where they are taboo, and that’s only been relatively recently. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/25 "2018-03-26T20:37:53Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > And as for pigs, as has been said, it’s only one region where they are taboo, and that’s only been relatively recently. [Scottish pork taboo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_pork_taboo) There are also many tribes in New Guinea or on Pacific Islands that prohibit the eating of pork. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/26 "2018-03-26T20:59:54Z")
> [@Mister\_Mills](#): > > Pigs are walking trash cans, and if you have ever smelled and seen slop, you might not eat any more bacon. So are crabs, which are carrion eaters, including human flesh. But few people give that a second thought. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/27 "2018-03-26T21:13:44Z")
[quote=“kayaker, post:6, topic:811208”] When my brother returned to the US after living in Germany for a few years, he introduced me to [URL=“[Mett - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mett)”]I wouldn’t call Mett a “dish”, since it’s not usually eaten on its own. It’s more commonly used as a sandwich or sausage filling. But yes, it is raw pork, it’s sold everywhere for lunch, and it’s delicious. ---
**Author:** ![pdhenry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pdhenry/32/5561_2.png) [@pdhenry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pdhenry)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/28 "2018-03-26T21:17:24Z")
Does the bible say anything about chicken? Is salmonella a “modern” infection of chickens? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/29 "2018-03-26T21:18:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There are also many tribes in New Guinea or on Pacific Islands that prohibit the eating of pork. Cite? Which ones? A general prohibition, or just in special circumstances? Pigs are extremely highly valued by most New Guinea and Pacific Islands cultures. I wouldn’t rule out that there could be a few that have a pork taboo, but it would be very exceptional. The fact that pigs are kept and so highly valued in the Pacific Islands suggests that the ecological argument is not very significant, since other sources of food (except for fish) are rather limited. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/30 "2018-03-26T21:20:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Who said it applied to all, or even most, human societies/locations? There are obviously many societies, including ours, which have no problems with pigs or dogs. We happen to live in an economy that produces copious amounts of food and have no problem using it to feed animals. > > But in other societies, food production has been more marginal. Feeding food to a pig or a dog often means that there’s a person somewhere going hungry. In that last sentence, I’m not entirely sure ‘often’ is necessarily the right word in that last sentence. In many places and times, pigs were not in fact eating food that would otherwise go to a human. For instance, from Wikipedia, one click away from the Scottish Pork taboo, ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork\_in\_Ireland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_in_Ireland)) > [@](#): > > [Medieval Irish pigs] foraged on fallen acorns, hazelnuts, chestnuts and other natural foodstuffs abundantly available in a landscape almost entirely under forest. […] Large herds were kept by kings and other nobles as they required no expense in their upkeep “beyond the pay of a swineherd” Pigs were eating the forest resources (acorns, etc.) that weren’t worth the effort for humans to gather, process and eat. It was not food being taken away from feeding humans; it was food that humans wouldn’t be eating anyway. It certainly is true that in some places and times, there really wasn’t any food resource that pigs could use but not humans. Note that the Scottish Pork taboo wikipedia page cites two arguments that, because there weren’t forest in Scotland, there was nothing to feed pigs with (other than human food), and that’s why Scots didn’t keep pigs. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/31 "2018-03-26T22:47:45Z")
[Cloned pork is kosher, according to an Israeli rabbi.](http://www.newsweek.com/cloned-pigs-kosher-rabbi-yuval-cherlow-kashrut-transgenic-genetically-857497) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/32 "2018-03-26T23:05:06Z")
They may be dirty, garbage eating fatboys, but they are intelligent. My Aunt had a pig pet, way before the pot-bellied things, he was one smart cookie. He did several tricks, and minded her well. The smartest thing he did was ingratiate himself to her, so he lived a long pampered life. She loved that pig. ETA his name was big Joe. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/33 "2018-03-26T23:42:20Z")
Great, now I have a GWAR song in my head The girlies love me cause I wear the right clotheses They see the bulges when I strike the right poses Pull my pants down and you ask me can you blow this I say yes if you want halitosis I can’t help my pork’s got trigonosis I been plookin’ a shoney’s hostess I’m Sleazy and I think you outta know this! ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/34 "2018-03-27T01:08:58Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [Scottish pork taboo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_pork_taboo) > > There are also many tribes in New Guinea or on Pacific Islands that prohibit the eating of pork. Because of the influence of the JW church. Apart from that, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/35 "2018-03-27T03:03:03Z")
My daughters Muslim boyfriend is crazy for bacon. He doesn’t get it at home. He brings it to me to cook for him. I always feel slightly evil for doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/36 "2018-03-27T03:12:44Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > They may be dirty, garbage eating fatboys, but they are intelligent. My Aunt had a pig pet, way before the pot-bellied things, he was one smart cookie. He did several tricks, and minded her well. The smartest thing he did was ingratiate himself to her, so he lived a long pampered life. She loved that pig. > ETA his name was big Joe. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My daughters Muslim boyfriend is crazy for bacon. He doesn’t get it at home. He brings it to me to cook for him. I always feel slightly evil for doing it. What does any of this have to do with answering the question in the OP? Posts like this belong in MPSIMS (if anywhere), not in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/37 "2018-03-27T03:23:29Z")
> [@Mister\_Mills](#): > > Pigs are walking trash cans, and _ **if you have ever smelled and seen slop, you might not eat any more bacon.** _ A pig will eat just about anything, including its own small young, when it is in an eating frenzy. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [Scottish pork taboo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_pork_taboo) There is a joke about slop and its resemblance to Scottish cuisine in there, but it’s probably best if I don’t find it. 😉 > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My daughters Muslim boyfriend is crazy for bacon. He doesn’t get it at home. He brings it to me to cook for him. I always feel slightly evil for doing it. When my wife worked in the medical field Muslim and Jewish doctors would notice bacon in a buffet (doctors of all faiths always know where the free food is 😉 ) and say, “Ah, smoked fish!” Fearing for their souls she would correct them, but they would insist it was smoked fish. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/38 "2018-03-27T03:30:32Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > What does any of this have to do with answering the question in the OP? Posts like this belong in MPSIMS (if anywhere), not in GQ. Lighten up, Newbie ;). The rule in GQ has always been that, once the question has been answered (see Post 2) we can start having fun. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/39 "2018-03-27T04:50:25Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Lighten up, Newbie ;). The rule in GQ has always been that, once the question has been answered (see Post 2) we can start having fun. Some posters overdo it. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2018, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208/40 "2018-03-27T05:21:01Z")
I am sorry I over did it. I assumed the question was answered sufficiently. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-factual-basis-to-pork-being-dirty-compared-to-other-meats/811208.md?page=3)