> ... many a culture has
> featured pig meat and fat prominently in their diets (including the
> vaulted Okinawains) without harm from what I can tell. Perhaps someone
> can explain why pig meat has such a bad reputation apart from biblical
> restrictions.

Pigs, like rats and people are subjected to trichinosis. Pigs would happily
bite, kill and eat rats and thereby getting the parasite. If you live in a
grilling culture eating pigs would be dangerous but in a boiling culture,
like the Scandinavian, eating pigs was not dangerous. Pigs meat have among
other nutrients a lot of vitamin B. Very strict rules around slaughtering
also makes pigs meat safe. It is very easy to detect trichinosis. If there
are no signs of it in a specific part of the pigs body there are no
parasites.

Pigs have been the most important domestic meat for all peoples in the
Northern parts of Europe. In Britain it used to be called "the little man
who pays the bills" and in Sweden, where I come from half of the meat
consumed is from pig. Other kinds of meat have been more common nowadays.

I think all these forbiddings has more to do with biblical authorities
needing to enforce obedience on their fellow members of the tribe. All these
conceptions about being clean and pure don't exist with us. We don't eat
certain meats but they were never called unclean. Seams to be some idea from
the area west of the Mediterranian.
Eva