worms

DrIndy · 08-05-2005 01:57AM

Islam and Judaism sensibly ban pork, but in the context of their religion, they didn't understand diseases then as we do now in the modern world. Hence it doesn't state "Pork is banned because it carries tapeworms".

The other sensible aspect of both religions is burial must take place within 24 hours - makes sense in a hot, desert climate.......

Never eat shellfish in a month without an "R" (ie may, june, july, august) as this is when the algal blooms take place that can be toxic. Unless the shellfish is cleaned by being placed in filtered salt water for a week first - ask the purveyor to be sure.....

Kevin_rc_ie · 08-05-2005 02:05AM

I thought the Islamic faith had an issue with the pig because it the boar didn't really mind who bonked his sow as long as he got some.

Pet · 09-05-2005 02:30AM

Kevin_rc_ie wrote:

I thought the Islamic faith had an issue with the pig because it the boar didn't really mind who bonked his sow as long as he got some.

Sounds like something they'd care about alright..

DrIndy · 09-05-2005 11:13AM

Pigs are a host to a great number of parasites - if my recall of tapeworms natural cycle is complete, they have two stages, stage one is eggs ingested form cysts in the muscles of an animal such as a pig.

A carnivore subsequently eats the meat and becomes infected with the secondary phase and form active gut tapeworms.

Therefore avoiding pork prevents tapeworms.....

However - cooking meat thoroughly also prevents this, but in the years when these religious edicts arrived - this could not be guarranteed and thus a ban was sensible.

On an aside, parasites are common in the world as a whole, but rarer in the west. This is due to improvements in animal husbandry and general hygiene. However occasionally people still become infected through bad luck.

Of interest, tapeworms have been recorded as growing to several metres long and roundworms to 18"!

mmmmmm.......

worms

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