Running Head: FOOD TABOOS IN LEVITICUS 1

Food Taboos

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A taboo is basically a prohibition against something which is either forbidden or sacred.

Therefore, food taboo is a prohibition against the consumption of specific foods by either a group

of people or a certain culture. Food taboo may not necessarily be connected to marginal religious

practices but also some nutritional matters may lead to avoidance of certain foods. Food is a

culturally specific concept which is determined by the factors of biology, culture, and geography

of the people. Some foods may be edible in one culture but not edible in another. In this article,

we shall compare and contrast the different opinions of Douglas and Harris on food taboo in the

Leviticus, (Norman, 2012).

According to Marvin Harris, there must be a logic and economical reason as to why

people reject to consume specific foods. For instance, expectant mothers in some communities

temporarily avoid taking green vegetables and fish saying that they are avoiding the unborn child

from developing a fish-like head. Therefore, by following these rules, the mother will be

confident that the child is all right, (Harris, 2012). On the other hand, Mary Douglas came up

with a decisive mode of interpreting the food taboo subject. She bases her argument on our own

attitudes towards dirt and hygiene. From this perspective, she clings the margins and boundaries

to food consumption on dirt and hygiene. With the conceptual ideas of hygiene perspectives, she

closely examines the abominations of Leviticus, pouring scorn on those who perceive Moses as a

public health administrator who protected the ancient Israelites from the dangers of consuming

pork and shellfish.

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From this discussion, we can base a common argument that food taboos function as a

social identity which means that the show the difference between specific groups and enhance

their cultural identity. Both arguments base idea of temporary and permanent taboos. Permanent

food taboos are food avoidances for a specific group of people in the individual’s entire lifetime

such as the prohibition of pork in the Jewish community while temporary taboos are like food

avoidances during fasting periods such as the Lent period in Christianity and the month of

Ramadan in the Muslim world.

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Reference

Harris, M. (2012). The abominable pig. In Food and Culture(pp. 73-85). Routledge.

Norman, C. E. (2012). Food and religion. The Oxford Handbook of Food History, 409.