122-408: Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious , cultural , legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos . Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the meat of a particular animal , including mammals , rodents , reptiles , amphibians , fish , molluscs , crustaceans and insects , which may relate to
244-511: A disgust response being more often associated with meats than plant-based foods. Some prohibitions are specific to a particular part or excretion of an animal, while others forgo the consumption of plants or fungi . Some food prohibitions can be defined as rules, codified by religion or otherwise, about which foods, or combinations of foods, may not be eaten and how animals are to be slaughtered or prepared. The origins of these prohibitions are varied. In some cases, they are thought to be
366-484: A "food animal" and for individual animals to not be raised as pets. No license has ever been granted for this purpose. There is also no recognized way to import dog meat into the country. In December 2018, Donald Trump signed the Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act of 2018 into law. Previously, the dog and cat meat trade was legal in 44 states. In July 2023, congresspeople Vern Buchanan and Jared Moskowitz introduced
488-442: A "humane" manner. This allowed dog meat trade to continue, mostly using stray, lost, or stolen dogs. According to kashrut , Jewish dietary law, it is forbidden to consume the flesh of terrestrial mammals that do not chew their cud and have cloven hooves, which includes dogs. In Islamic dietary laws , the consumption of the flesh of a dog, or any carnivorous animal, or any animal bearing fangs, claws, fingers or reptilian scales,
610-482: A Church, all those who adhere to them". Sacred things are not, however, limited to gods or spirits. On the contrary, a sacred thing can be "a rock, a tree, a spring, a pebble, a piece of wood, a house, in a word, anything can be sacred". Religious beliefs, myths, dogmas and legends are the representations that express the nature of these sacred things, and the virtues and powers which are attributed to them. Echoes of James' and Durkheim's definitions are to be found in
732-634: A South Sea Dog was next to an English Lamb, one thing in their favour is that they live entirely upon Vegetables". Calvin Schwabe reported in 1979 that dog was widely eaten in Hawaii and considered to be of higher quality than pork or chicken. When Hawaiians first encountered early British and American explorers, they were at a loss to explain the visitors' attitudes about dog meat. The Hawaiians raised both dogs and pigs as pets and for food. They could not understand why their British and American visitors only found
854-491: A concrete deity or not" to which the individual feels impelled to respond with solemnity and gravity. Sociologist Émile Durkheim , in his seminal book The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life , defined religion as a "unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things". By sacred things he meant things "set apart and forbidden—beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called
976-575: A cultural taboo. For example, although dog meat is eaten, in certain circumstances, in Korea , Vietnam , and China , it is considered inappropriate as a food in virtually all Western countries. Likewise, horse meat is rarely eaten in the English-speaking world , although it is part of the national cuisine of countries as widespread as Kazakhstan , Japan , Italy , and France . Sometimes food prohibitions enter national or local law, as with
1098-493: A definition of religion. There are, however, two general definition systems: the sociological/functional and the phenomenological/philosophical. The concept of religion originated in the modern era in the West . Parallel concepts are not found in many current and past cultures; there is no equivalent term for religion in many languages. Scholars have found it difficult to develop a consistent definition, with some giving up on
1220-527: A delicacy. The Mamprusi people generally avoid dog meat, and it is eaten in a "courtship stew" provided by a king to his royal lineage. Two Tribes in Ghana, Frafra and Dagaaba are particularly known to be "tribal playmates" and consumption of dog meat is the common bond between the two tribes. Every year around September, games are organised between these two tribes and the Dog Head is the trophy at stake for
1342-441: A famine-stricken village kills and eats its bullocks, they will not be available to pull the plough and the cart when next planting season comes. However, little evidence has been found to support this conjecture. Areas suffering from famine may resort to consuming cattle in efforts to survive until the next season. By Indian law, the slaughter of female cattle is banned in almost all Indian states except Kerala , West Bengal and
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#17327906040401464-457: A general rule, all seafood is permissible in the 3 madh'hab of Sunni Islam except Hanafi school of thought. The Ja'fari school of Islamic jurisprudence , which is followed by most Shia Muslims , prohibits non-piscine (lacking scales) seafood, with the exception of shrimp. Honey is concentrated nectar and honeydew which has been regurgitated by bees . It is considered kosher even though honey bees are not, an apparent exception to
1586-648: A marked discontinuity in the genes of domesticated dogs, as well as the terms for dogs, among Austronesians in the Pacific Islands, in comparison to other Austronesian regions in Island Southeast Asia. Dogs were historically eaten in Tahiti and other islands of Polynesia , including Hawaii at the time of first European contact. James Cook , when first visiting Tahiti in 1769, recorded in his journal, "few were there of us but what allow'd that
1708-619: A photograph of dog trade in Nagaland, commenting: "This is illegal according to the laws of India and it cannot be allowed under the guise of culture." In Nagaland , pet lovers had launched a campaign to end Nagaland's dog meat trade. Following Gandhi's remarks, the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) formally requested the Government of Nagaland to ban the consumption and trading of dog meat. On 3 July 2020,
1830-556: A resolution that would call for banning dog and cat meat globally. Animal welfare NGO Four Paws estimates that 2–3 million dogs are slaughtered annually for their meat in Cambodia. According to a market research study in 2019 on the dog meat trade in Cambodia, overall a total of 53.6% of respondents indicated that they have eaten dog meat at some time in their lives (72.4% of males and 34.8% of females). A new campaign began in 2020 to end dog meat consumption. In Hong Kong,
1952-443: A result of health considerations or other practical reasons; in others, they relate to human symbolic systems . Some foods may be prohibited during certain religious periods (e.g., Lent ), at certain stages of life (e.g., pregnancy ), or to certain classes of people (e.g., priests ), even if the food is otherwise permitted. On a comparative basis, what may be declared unfit for one group may be perfectly acceptable to another within
2074-537: A scandal erupted when a farm near the Polish town of Częstochowa was discovered rearing dogs to be rendered down into smalec - lard . In Switzerland , an article in 2012 by The Local reported the continued consumption of dogs within the nation. Speculation arose suggesting that farmers in the German-speaking cantons of Appenzell and St. Gallen were known to personally slaughter these animals. According to
2196-460: A significant role in Hinduism with milk particularly being highly revered, often being used in holy ceremonies. Bullocks were the primary source of agricultural power and transportation in the early days, and as India adopted an agricultural lifestyle, the cow proved to be a very useful animal. This respect, stemming out of necessity, led to abstaining from killing cows for food; for example, if
2318-443: A similar union between imperial law and universal or Buddha law, but these later became independent sources of power. Though traditions, sacred texts, and practices have existed throughout time, most cultures did not align with Western conceptions of religion since they did not separate everyday life from the sacred. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the terms Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, and world religions first entered
2440-440: A spot of blood may not be eaten under Jewish and Islamic tradition, but eggs without any blood are commonly consumed (and are not considered to be meat, so may be eaten with dairy). Buddhists are forbidden from eating elephant meat. Elephant meat is also not considered kosher by Jewish dietary laws because elephants do not have cloven hooves and are not ruminants . Some scholars of Islamic dietary laws have ruled that it
2562-548: A strict set of rules, called kashrut , regarding what may and may not be eaten, and notably forbidding the mixing of meat with dairy products. Islam has similar laws , dividing foods into haram (forbidden) and halal (permitted). Jains often follow religious directives to observe vegetarianism . Some Hindus do not eat beef, and some Hindus , especially those from the Upper Castes consider vegetarianism as ideal, and practise forms of vegetarianism. In some cases,
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#17327906040402684-655: A subject of interest to philosophers and theologians. The word myth has several meanings: Ancient polytheistic religions, such as those of Greece, Rome , and Scandinavia , are usually categorized under the heading of mythology . Religions of pre-industrial peoples, or cultures in development, are similarly called myths in the anthropology of religion . The term myth can be used pejoratively by both religious and non-religious people. By defining another person's religious stories and beliefs as mythology, one implies that they are less real or true than one's own religious stories and beliefs. Joseph Campbell remarked, "Mythology
2806-468: A subsection of the community, a food taboo can also lead to the monopolization of a food item by those exempted. A food taboo acknowledged by a particular group or tribe as part of their ways, aids in the cohesion of the group, helps that particular group to stand out and maintain its identity in the face of others and therefore creates a feeling of "belonging". Various religions forbid the consumption of certain types of food. For example, Judaism prescribes
2928-610: A taboo against dog meat. In Indonesia , due to its majority Islamic population, consuming dog meat is prohibited, with exception of Christian Batak and Minahasan ethnic groups that traditionally consumed dog meat. The Urapmin people of the New Guinea Highlands do not kill or eat dogs, unlike some neighboring tribes, nor do they let dogs breathe on their food. Bears are not considered kosher animals in Judaism. Bear meat, like all predatory terrestrial animals ,
3050-478: A taboo against eating beef, because they consider cows as an animal responsible for working in the fields with human beings. However, it is not strictly considered taboo in populated cities like Mandalay, Yangon etc. In the town of Kudus on the Indonesian island of Java , there is also a taboo on eating beef, despite most people being Muslim. The reason why the people of Kudus have a taboo against eating beef
3172-600: A transcendent deity and all else, between the creator and his creation, between God and man. The anthropologist Clifford Geertz defined religion as a: ... system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic. Alluding perhaps to Tylor's "deeper motive", Geertz remarked that: ... we have very little idea of how, in empirical terms, this particular miracle
3294-450: A wide variety of academic disciplines, including theology , philosophy of religion , comparative religion , and social scientific studies. Theories of religion offer various explanations for its origins and workings, including the ontological foundations of religious being and belief. The term religion comes from both Old French and Anglo-Norman (1200s CE ) and means respect for sense of right, moral obligation, sanctity, what
3416-563: A word or even a concept of religion in the original languages and neither did the people or the cultures in which these sacred texts were written. For example, there is no precise equivalent of religion in Hebrew, and Judaism does not distinguish clearly between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities. One of its central concepts is halakha , meaning the walk or path sometimes translated as law, which guides religious practice and belief and many aspects of daily life. Even though
3538-400: Is accomplished. We just know that it is done, annually, weekly, daily, for some people almost hourly; and we have an enormous ethnographic literature to demonstrate it. The theologian Antoine Vergote took the term supernatural simply to mean whatever transcends the powers of nature or human agency. He also emphasized the cultural reality of religion, which he defined as: ... the entirety of
3660-468: Is also the product of the dominant Western religious mode, what is called the Judeo-Christian climate or, more accurately, the theistic inheritance from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The theistic form of belief in this tradition, even when downgraded culturally, is formative of the dichotomous Western view of religion. That is, the basic structure of theism is essentially a distinction between
3782-579: Is banned in some countries and legal in others, as listed in the table below and summed up in the map. Dogs are eaten by Vame people for certain religious rituals. In 2011 it was reported that, due to high prices on other types of meat, the consumption of dog meat is common despite a longstanding taboo. The Tallensi , the Akyims, the Kokis, and the Yaakuma, one of many cultures of Ghana, consider dog meat
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3904-463: Is believed to improve one's sex life, provide immunity from diseases and poisoning, and offer protection from juju (charms). In late 2014, the fear of contracting the Ebola virus disease from bushmeat led at least one major Nigerian newspaper to imply that eating dog meat was a healthy alternative. That paper documented a thriving trade in dog meat and slow sales of even well smoked bushmeat. It
4026-529: Is considered haram ("prohibited"), whereas the Maliki school deems it makruh ("disliked but not prohibited"). In most European countries, the consumption of dog meat is taboo. Exceptions occurred in times of scarcity, such as sieges or famines. In Germany, dog meat has been eaten in every major crisis since at least the time of Frederick the Great , and was commonly referred to as "blockade mutton". During
4148-526: Is currently not illegal to chew gum in Singapore , merely to import it and sell it, with certain exceptions. Since 2004, an exception has existed for therapeutic, dental, and nicotine chewing gum , which can be bought from a doctor or registered pharmacist. Almost all types of non- piscine seafood , such as shellfish , lobster , shrimp or crayfish , are forbidden by Judaism because such animals live in water but do not have both fins and scales . As
4270-520: Is derived from religare : re (meaning "again") + ligare ("bind" or "connect"), which was made prominent by St. Augustine following the interpretation given by Lactantius in Divinae institutiones , IV, 28. The medieval usage alternates with order in designating bonded communities like those of monastic orders : "we hear of the 'religion' of the Golden Fleece , of a knight 'of
4392-560: Is forbidden for Muslims to eat elephant because elephants fall under the prohibited category of fanged or predatory animals. Religion Antiquity Medieval Early modern Modern Iran India East-Asia Religion is a range of social - cultural systems , including designated behaviors and practices, morals , beliefs , worldviews , texts , sanctified places , prophecies , ethics , or organizations , that generally relate humanity to supernatural , transcendental , and spiritual elements —although there
4514-568: Is forbidden in Islam. There is a strong taboo against eating cats in many Western parts of the world , including most of the Americas and Europe . Cat meat is forbidden by Jewish and Islamic law as both religions forbid the eating of carnivores. Cats are commonly regarded as pets in Western countries, or as working animals, kept to control vermin , not as a food animal, and consumption of cats
4636-559: Is found in texts from the 17th century due to events such as the splitting of Christendom during the Protestant Reformation and globalization in the Age of Exploration , which involved contact with numerous foreign cultures with non-European languages. Some argue that regardless of its definition, it is not appropriate to apply the term religion to non-Western cultures, while some followers of various faiths rebuke using
4758-719: Is legal to eat dog meat in Canada. According to a writer for the National Post , this is because it is not necessary to prevent people from eating dogs. While it is technically legal to serve dog meat in a restaurant in Canada if it has been inspected, it may not be possible to actually do so. In 2003, uninspected frozen canine meat was found at a Chinese restaurant named "Panda Garden" in Edmonton, Alberta . Provincial authorities determine if an animal species can be approved for slaughter; which would require dogs to be classified as
4880-550: Is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine , sacredness , faith , and a supernatural being or beings. The origin of religious belief is an open question, with possible explanations including awareness of individual death, a sense of community, and dreams. Religions have sacred histories , narratives , and mythologies , preserved in oral traditions, sacred texts , symbols , and holy places , that may attempt to explain
5002-581: Is often thought of as other people's religions, and religion can be defined as misinterpreted mythology." Dog meat Dog meat , also known as fragrant meat or simply fragrant , is the meat derived from dogs . Historically human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world. In the 21st century dog meat is consumed to a limited extent in Cambodia , China , India , Indonesia , Ghana , Laos , Nigeria , North Korea , Switzerland , and Vietnam . In these areas,
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5124-526: Is possible to understand why scientific findings and philosophical criticisms (e.g., those made by Richard Dawkins ) do not necessarily disturb its adherents. The origin of religious belief is an open question, with possible explanations including awareness of individual death, a sense of community, and dreams. Traditionally, faith , in addition to reason , has been considered a source of religious beliefs. The interplay between faith and reason, and their use as perceived support for religious beliefs, have been
5246-471: Is sacred, reverence for the gods. It is ultimately derived from the Latin word religiō . According to Roman philosopher Cicero , religiō comes from relegere : re (meaning "again") + lego (meaning "read"), where lego is in the sense of "go over", "choose", or "consider carefully". Contrarily, some modern scholars such as Tom Harpur and Joseph Campbell have argued that religiō
5368-580: Is seen in Northeast India in the states of Mizoram , Nagaland , Manipur , Meghalaya , Tripura , and Arunachal Pradesh . It is rare and usually consumed amongst tribal Tibeto-Burman tribal communities. In 2016, animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi , then Minister of Women and Child Development of India, raised a nation-wide petition to stop dog meat sale and consumption, specifically targeting Nagaland and Mizoram. The issue caught public attention when she posted on Twitter on 30 June 2022
5490-504: Is the rook , which was a recognised country dish, and which has, more recently, been served in a Scottish restaurant in London . In Western cultures today, most people regard songbirds as backyard wildlife rather than as food. A balut is a developing bird embryo (usually a duck or chicken) that is boiled and eaten from the shell. Part of the Quran includes understanding and respecting
5612-516: Is the meat and eggs of endangered species or animals that are otherwise protected by law or international treaty. Examples of such protected species include some species of whales, sea turtles , and migratory birds . Similarly, sustainable seafood advisory lists and certification discourage the consumption of certain seafoods due to unsustainable fishing . Organic certification prohibits certain synthetic chemical inputs during food production, or genetically modified organisms , irradiation , and
5734-400: Is thus seen as a barbaric act by a large part of the population in those countries. In Switzerland , a 2012 report by The Local also highlighted the consumption of cats within the country. Consumption of eggs is permissible in all Abrahamic faiths. Jains abstain from eating eggs. Many Hindu and Orthodox Sikh vegetarians also refrain from eating eggs. An egg that naturally contains
5856-714: Is to avoid offending Hindus. While both beef and dairy consumption is permitted in Judaism, the mixing of dairy products with any sort of meat is completely forbidden. The consumption of dairy products together with meat is also prohibited as non-kosher in Rabbinic Judaism, based on Deuteronomy 14:21: "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk." Karaite Jews, however, interpret this commandment more literally to mean that meat cannot be cooked in milk; but dairy products can be served with them. A chewing gum sales ban has been in place since 1992 in Singapore. It
5978-486: The Abrahamic religions Christianity, Islam, and Judaism , while others are arguably less so, in particular folk religions , indigenous religions , and some Eastern religions . A portion of the world's population are members of new religious movements . Scholars have indicated that global religiosity may be increasing due to religious countries having generally higher birth rates. The study of religion comprises
6100-656: The Dogs and Cats Ordinance was introduced by the British Hong Kong Government on 6 January 1950. It prohibits the slaughter of any dog or cat for use as food by fine and imprisonment. In February 1998, a Hong Konger was sentenced to one month imprisonment and a fine of two thousand HK dollars for hunting street dogs for food. Four local men were sentenced to 30 days imprisonment in December 2006 for having slaughtered two dogs. Consumption of dog meat
6222-668: The German occupation from 1940 to 1945, sausages found to have been made of dog meat were confiscated by Nazi authorities in the Netherlands. Travelers sometimes have to eat their accompanying dogs to survive when stranded without other food. For example, Benedict Allen ate his dog when lost in the Brazilian rainforest. A case in Canada was reported in 2013. During the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803–1806), Meriwether Lewis and
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#17327906040406344-569: The German occupation of Belgium in World War I , when food was scarce. In the latter part of World War I , dog meat was being eaten in Saxony by the poorer classes because of famine conditions. In Germany, the consumption of dog meat continued in the 1920s. In 1937, a meat inspection law targeted against trichinella was introduced for pigs, dogs, boars , foxes, badgers , and other carnivores. During severe meat shortages coinciding with
6466-565: The Works Progress Administration "Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma". On 20 December 2018, the federal Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act was signed into law as part of the 2018 Farm Bill . It bans slaughtering dogs and cats for food in the United States, with exceptions for Native American rituals. One of Ireland's mythological heroes, Cú Chulainn , had two geasa , or vows, one of which
6588-785: The cloven hoof criterion. Like these animals, camels (and llamas) are ruminants with a multi-chambered stomach. Camels are even-toed ungulates , with feet split in two. However, a camel's feet form soft pads rather than hard hooves. In Islam, the eating of camels is allowed, and is indeed traditional in the Islamic heartland in Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula . Cattle hold a traditional place as objects of reverence in countries such as India . Some Hindus, particularly Brahmins , are vegetarian and strictly abstain from eating meat. All of those who do eat meat abstain from
6710-509: The medieval period . In the Quran, the Arabic word din is often translated as religion in modern translations, but up to the mid-1600s translators expressed din as "law". The Sanskrit word dharma , sometimes translated as religion, also means law. Throughout classical South Asia , the study of law consisted of concepts such as penance through piety and ceremonial as well as practical traditions . Medieval Japan at first had
6832-574: The origin of life , the universe , and other phenomena. Religious practices may include rituals , sermons , commemoration or veneration (of deities or saints ), sacrifices , festivals , feasts , trances , initiations , matrimonial and funerary services, meditation , prayer , music , art , dance , or public service . There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, though nearly all of them have regionally based, relatively small followings. Four religions— Christianity , Islam , Hinduism , and Buddhism —account for over 77% of
6954-707: The ostrich , is explicitly banned as food in some interpretations of Leviticus 11:16. Rabbis have frequently inferred that traditions that explicitly prohibit birds of prey and natural scavengers create a distinction with other avian species; thus, eating chickens , ducks , geese , and turkeys is allowed. In contrast, Islamic dietary rules permit the consumption of ostrich, while birds of prey (defined specifically as those who hunt with claws and talons ) are forbidden, as in Judaism. Scavengers and carrion-eaters such as vultures and crows are avoided as food in many cultures because they are perceived as carriers of disease and unclean, and associated with death. An exception
7076-527: The religion of Avys '". In classic antiquity, religiō broadly meant conscientiousness , sense of right , moral obligation , or duty to anything. In the ancient and medieval world, the etymological Latin root religiō was understood as an individual virtue of worship in mundane contexts; never as doctrine , practice, or actual source of knowledge . In general, religiō referred to broad social obligations towards anything including family, neighbors, rulers, and even towards God . Religiō
7198-509: The seven north eastern states . A person involved in either cow slaughter or its illegal transportation could be jailed in many states. Slaughter of cows is an extremely provocative issue for many Hindus. Some Chinese Buddhists discourage the consumption of beef, although it is not considered taboo. However, for Sinhalese Buddhists , it is taboo and considered to be ungrateful to kill the animal whose milk and labour provides livelihoods to many Sinhalese people . Burmese Buddhists also have
7320-492: The 1500s to distinguish the domain of the church and the domain of civil authorities ; the Peace of Augsburg marks such instance, which has been described by Christian Reus-Smit as "the first step on the road toward a European system of sovereign states ." Roman general Julius Caesar used religiō to mean "obligation of an oath" when discussing captured soldiers making an oath to their captors. Roman naturalist Pliny
7442-591: The 19th century westward movement in the United States, mountainmen , Native Americans , the U.S. Army , as well as the Confederacy during the American Civil War frequently had to sustain themselves on dog meat; the first to be consumed would be the horses, then the mules, and lastly the dogs. During the Siege of Paris (1870–1871) , food shortages caused by the German blockade of the city caused
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#17327906040407564-528: The Elder used the term religiō to describe the apparent respect given by elephants to the night sky . Cicero used religiō as being related to cultum deorum (worship of the gods). In Ancient Greece , the Greek term threskeia ( θρησκεία ) was loosely translated into Latin as religiō in late antiquity . Threskeia was sparsely used in classical Greece but became more frequently used in
7686-567: The English language. Native Americans were also thought of as not having religions and also had no word for religion in their languages either. No one self-identified as a Hindu or Buddhist or other similar terms before the 1800s. "Hindu" has historically been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people indigenous to the Indian subcontinent . Throughout its long history, Japan had no concept of religion since there
7808-653: The Executive branch of the Government, without there being any law passed by the legislature in relation to trade and consumption of dog meat is liable thus to be set aside, even though it was passed in accordance with a Cabinet decision." The judgement further stated that the Chief Secretary is not an authority to make such legal matters, and that selling and eating dog meat do not violate any law in India, and
7930-609: The Mizoram Animal Slaughter (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which removed dogs from animals permitted to be killed for meat. The news was taken as prohibition of slaughter of dogs in the state, but is not the case as it merely implied lack of legislation on dog meat. In 2023, there were pressures from pet lovers to enforce the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing) Rule 2017 that would ban dog meat sale, but were received with stern criticisms from
8052-595: The Nagaland High Court under the case file Neizevolie Kuotsu Alias Toni Kuotsu and ors v. State of Nagaland and ors . The legislation was momentarily withheld but without final decision. In 2023, the case was put up at the Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench, in which Justice Marli Vankung made a verdict on 2 June nullifying the government's legislation. The judgement reads: "The prohibition of sale and consumption of dog meat, by
8174-399: The Nagaland cabinet meeting passed the legislation for banning the sale and consumption of dog meat in the state. The regulation was enacted the next day when the Chief Secretary of Nagaland, Temjen Toy, issued an order banning dog markets, the commercial import and trading of dogs, and commercial sale of dog meat. In November 2020, dog meat traders challenged the Nagaland's legislation at
8296-483: The South Pole. This allowed the party to carry less food, thus lightening the load, and ultimately helped Amundsen to win his race to the South Pole against Robert Scott's expedition , which used ponies. When comparing sled dogs to ponies as draught animals, Amundsen noted: There is the obvious advantage that dog can be fed on dog. One can reduce one's pack little by little, slaughtering the feebler ones and feeding
8418-492: The West (or even in the West until after the Peace of Westphalia ). The MacMillan Encyclopedia of Religions states: The very attempt to define religion, to find some distinctive or possibly unique essence or set of qualities that distinguish the religious from the remainder of human life, is primarily a Western concern. The attempt is a natural consequence of the Western speculative, intellectualistic, and scientific disposition. It
8540-613: The affectionate treatment of dogs by native Visayans in the 17th century, during the early Spanish colonial period . Alcina disapprovingly records that dogs were treated by locals like their own children. Thus, the rise in the consumption of dog meat as food in the secular context in some ethnic groups in the Philippines is likely to have only occurred some time after the arrival of the Spanish. The tradition of eating dog meat for ritual purposes in some ethnic groups survived into
8662-401: The ancient Hindu scriptures (cf. Manusmṛti and medicinal texts like Sushruta Samhita ), dog's meat was regarded as the most unclean (and rather poisonous) food possible. Dog's meat is also regarded as unclean under Jewish and Islamic dietary laws; therefore, consumption of dog meat is forbidden by both of those religious traditions. In Irish mythology , legend recounts how Cú Chulainn ,
8784-547: The animals was banned in 1980, though international imports as well as private, individual hunting and cooking remains legal in many areas. In Judaism, the Deuteronomic Code and Priestly Code explicitly prohibit the bat. Bat meat, like that of all predatory land animals, is haram (prohibited) in Islam. The Torah ( Leviticus 11:13) explicitly states that the eagle , vulture , and osprey are not to be eaten. A bird now commonly raised for meat in some areas,
8906-488: The ban on cattle abattoirs in most of India , and horse slaughter in the United States . Even after reversion to Chinese rule, Hong Kong has not lifted its ban on supplying meat from dogs and cats, created during British rule . Environmentalism , ethical consumerism and other activist movements are giving rise to new prohibitions and eating guidelines. A fairly recent addition to cultural food prohibitions
9028-422: The belief in spiritual beings exists in all known societies. In his book The Varieties of Religious Experience , the psychologist William James defined religion as "the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine". By the term divine James meant "any object that is god like , whether it be
9150-430: The beliefs and traditions of Judaism are found in the ancient world, ancient Jews saw Jewish identity as being about an ethnic or national identity and did not entail a compulsory belief system or regulated rituals. In the 1st century CE, Josephus had used the Greek term ioudaismos (Judaism) as an ethnic term and was not linked to modern abstract concepts of religion or a set of beliefs. The very concept of "Judaism"
9272-432: The chosen with them. In this way they get fresh meat. Our dogs lived on dog's flesh and pemmican the whole way, and this enabled them to do splendid work. And if we ourselves wanted a piece of fresh meat we could cut off a delicate little fillet; it tasted to us as good as the best beef. The dogs do not object at all; as long as they get their share they do not mind what part of their comrade's carcass it comes from. All that
9394-524: The citizens of Paris to turn to alternative sources for food, including dog meat. Dog meat was also reported as being sold by some butchers in Paris in 1910. In the early 20th century, high meat prices led to widespread consumption of horse and dog meat in Germany. In the early 20th century in the United States, dog meat was consumed during times of meat shortage. A few meat shops sold dog meat during
9516-608: The communication of supernatural beliefs, defining religion as: ... the communicated acceptance by individuals of another individual’s “supernatural” claim, a claim whose accuracy is not verifiable by the senses. Friedrich Schleiermacher in the late 18th century defined religion as das schlechthinnige Abhängigkeitsgefühl , commonly translated as "the feeling of absolute dependence". His contemporary Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel disagreed thoroughly, defining religion as "the Divine Spirit becoming conscious of Himself through
9638-797: The consumption of amphibians such as frogs . The restriction is described in Leviticus 11:29-30 and 42–43. Derivative chemical products from amphibians, as well as with other proscribed animals, must be avoided. In other cultures, foods such as frog legs are treasured as delicacies, and the animals may be raised commercially in some circumstances. However, environmental concerns over the endangerment of frogs, even possibly pushing them into extinction , due to overconsumption has prompted legal action in nations such as France to limit their use in food. The French Ministry of Agriculture began taking measures to protect native frog species in 1976, and efforts have continued since. Mass commercial harvesting of
9760-412: The consumption of beef , as the cow holds a sacred place in Hinduism . For example, tradition states that the goddess Kamadhenu manifests herself as a wish-granting divine cow, with such stories repeated over generations. In contrast to cow slaughter, consumption of dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and particularly ghee (a form of butter ) is highly common in India. Cow-derived products play
9882-536: The diner draped his head with a linen napkin to preserve the precious aromas and, some believe, to hide from God." The eating of camels is strictly prohibited by the Torah in Deuteronomy 14:7 and Leviticus 11:4 . The Torah considers the camel unclean, even though it chews the cud, or regurgitates , the way bovines, sheep, goats, deer, antelope, and giraffes (all of which are kosher ) do, because it does not meet
10004-408: The early 20th century, consumption of dog meat in Germany was common. Suspicions about the provenance of Frankfurter meat sold by German immigrants in the United States led to the coinage of the term ' hot dog '. In 1937, a meat inspection law targeting trichinella was introduced for pigs, dogs, boars , foxes, badgers , and other carnivores. Dog meat has been prohibited in Germany since 1986. In 2009
10126-423: The eating of most insects is prohibited, but locusts are considered lawful food and do not require ritual slaughtering. In Western countries , eating dog meat is generally considered taboo, though that taboo has been broken under threat of starvation in the past. Dog meat has been eaten in every major German crisis at least since the time of Frederick the Great , and is commonly referred to as "blockade mutton". In
10248-549: The exception of China , Vietnam , North and South Korea either because of Islamic or Buddhist values or animal rights as in Taiwan. Manchus have a prohibition against the eating of dog meat, which is sometimes consumed by the Manchus' neighboring Northeastern Asian peoples. The Manchus also avoid the wearing of hats made of dog's fur. In addition to Manchus, Chinese Mongol , Miao , Muslims , Tibetan , Yao and Yi have
10370-450: The finite spirit." Edward Burnett Tylor defined religion in 1871 as "the belief in spiritual beings". He argued that narrowing the definition to mean the belief in a supreme deity or judgment after death or idolatry and so on, would exclude many peoples from the category of religious, and thus "has the fault of identifying religion rather with particular developments than with the deeper motive which underlies them". He also argued that
10492-477: The great hero of Ulster whose name means Culann 's Hound, was presented with a Morton's fork , forcing him to either break his geis (taboo) about eating dog meat or declining hospitality; Cú Chulainn chose to eat the meat, leading ultimately to his death. In Mexico , in the pre-Columbian era , a hairless breed of dog named xoloitzcuintle was commonly eaten. After colonization, this custom stopped. In East Asia , most countries rarely consume dog meat with
10614-534: The law that any animal products should not be eaten if the animal has not been slaughtered properly, making the animal or animal-product "maytah". Because balut is an egg containing a partly-developed embryo, Muslims believe this makes it "haram", or "forbidden". The ortolan bunting developed as a more recent taboo food among French gourmets. The tiny birds were captured alive, force-fed, then drowned in Armagnac, "roasted whole and eaten that way, bones and all, while
10736-408: The legality of dog meat consumption varies with some nations permitting it or lacking a nationwide ban. It was estimated in 2014 that worldwide, 25 million dogs are eaten each year by humans. Some cultures view the consumption of dog meat as part of their traditional, ritualistic, or day-to-day cuisine , and other cultures consider consumption of dog meat a taboo , even where it had been consumed in
10858-424: The linguistic expressions, emotions and, actions and signs that refer to a supernatural being or supernatural beings. Peter Mandaville and Paul James intended to get away from the modernist dualisms or dichotomous understandings of immanence/transcendence, spirituality/materialism, and sacredness/secularity. They define religion as: ... a relatively-bounded system of beliefs, symbols and practices that addresses
10980-415: The meat being subsequently prepared and consumed. The Indigenous Taiwanese originally had taboos against eating dogs, which featured prominently in their cultural myths. The indigenous Taiwan Dog was deeply valued as a hunting companion. However, they also started consuming dog meat after it was introduced by incoming waishengren (mainlander) Han Chinese migrants in the mid-20th century, leading to
11102-540: The meat, skin and bones until nothing remained. The men also ate the dog's brains and livers. Unfortunately eating the liver of sled dogs produces the condition hypervitaminosis A because canines have a much higher tolerance for vitamin A than humans do. Mertz suffered a quick deterioration. He developed stomach pains and became incapacitated and incoherent. On 7 January 1913, Mertz died. Mawson continued alone, eventually making it back to camp alive. The slaughter, sale, purchase (including import), or consumption of dog meat
11224-513: The modern times in the Cordillera highlands of the Philippines. Among Cordillerans , dogs are sacrificed and eaten in a cleansing ritual known as dao-es or daw-es . The ritual is typically done after a person dies unexpectedly (through murder or an accident), gets severely ill, was released from prison, or witnessed death firsthand. Cordillerans believe that dogs have one of the purest souls among animals, comparable to humans, and thus they are
11346-545: The most appealing to the ancestor spirits ( anito ). The dog soul is sent as a messenger to the spirit world by a shaman ( mambunong ), which is believed to cleanse the minds of participants of images of death and evil spirits. These rituals are still legally permitted, though they are required to keep records and are overseen by the Committee on Animal Welfare. Dogs lost their economic importance as hunting animals (usually for wild boar) among Austronesians that reached
11468-593: The nature of existence, and in which communion with others and Otherness is lived as if it both takes in and spiritually transcends socially-grounded ontologies of time, space, embodiment and knowing. According to the MacMillan Encyclopedia of Religions , there is an experiential aspect to religion which can be found in almost every culture: ... almost every known culture [has] a depth dimension in cultural experiences ... toward some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for
11590-1004: The near-extinction of the Taiwan Dog. Domesticated dogs were carried into the Philippines by the Neolithic Austronesian migrations from Taiwan , whose dogs in turn were acquired from the pre-Austronesian cultures in Neolithic southeastern China . Dog meat were consumed in some pre-colonial Philippine ethnic groups during certain shamanic rituals and special occasions. However, dog bones are very rarely found in middens in archaeological sites, in contrast to pig and deer remains; and most complete dog remains in archaeological sites are of dog burials near or beside human graves. This indicates that while dogs were sometimes eaten, they were primarily kept as companions and hunting dogs, and not as food animals. The Spanish historian Francisco Ignacio Alcina have detailed descriptions of
11712-746: The normal rule that products of an unclean animal are also unclean. This topic is covered in the Talmud and is explained to be permissible on the grounds that the bee does not originally make the first honey, the flower does, while the bees store and dehydrate the liquid into honey. This is different from royal jelly , which is produced by bees directly and is considered non-kosher. Some vegans avoid honey as they would any other animal product . In Judaism and Samaritanism , certain locusts could be kosher foods (Leviticus 11:22). Otherwise, insects are considered nonkosher. Kashrut also requires that practitioners check other foods carefully for insects. In Islam,
11834-618: The original inhabitants of North America, with some tribes relishing it as a delicacy , and others (such as the Comanche ) treating it as a forbidden food. Native peoples of the Great Plains , such as the Sioux and Cheyenne , consumed it, but there was a concurrent religious taboo against the meat of wild canines. The Kickapoo people include puppy meat in many of their traditional festivals. This practice has been well documented in
11956-1175: The other members of the Corps of Discovery consumed dog meat, either from their own animals or supplied by Native American tribes, including the Paiutes and Wah-clel-lah Indians, a branch of the Watlatas , the Clatsop , the Teton Sioux (Lakota), the Nez Perce Indians (who did not eat dog themselves ), and the Hidatsas . Lewis and the members of the expedition ate dog meat, except William Clark , who reportedly could not bring himself to eat dogs. British explorer Ernest Shackleton and his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition became trapped, and ultimately killed their sled dogs for food. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen 's party famously planned to eat their sled dogs, as well as to feed weaker dogs to other dogs, during their expedition to
12078-693: The past. Opinions also vary drastically across different regions within different countries. In the Aztec Empire , Mexican hairless dogs were bred for many purposes. Hernán Cortés , an enemy of the Aztec, claimed in a letter that when he arrived in Tenochtitlan in 1519, "small gelded dogs which they breed for eating" were among the goods sold in the city markets. No other source corroborates this practice. These dogs, Xoloitzcuintles , were often depicted in pre-Columbian Mexican pottery. The breed
12200-419: The pig suitable for consumption. This practice seems to have died out, along with the native Hawaiian breed of dog, the unique Hawaiian Poi Dog , which was primarily used for this purpose. Although Hawaii has outlawed commercial sales of dog meat, until the federal Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act it was legal to slaughter an animal classified as a pet if it was "bred for human consumption" and done in
12322-428: The possibility of a definition. Others argue that regardless of its definition, it is not appropriate to apply it to non-Western cultures. An increasing number of scholars have expressed reservations about ever defining the essence of religion. They observe that the way the concept today is used is a particularly modern construct that would not have been understood through much of history and in many cultures outside
12444-581: The practice is "an accepted norm and food among people of Nagaland." In Mizoram, dog meat is freely sold and eaten. According to the Mizoram Animal Slaughter Act 2013, dogs are classified alongside cattle as animals allowed for slaughter, meat trade and consumption. The State Animal Welfare Board of the Government of Mizoram had challenged this classification. On 4 March 2020, the Mizoram State Assembly passed
12566-528: The process of preparation rather than the food itself comes under scrutiny. For instance, in early medieval Christianity, certain uncooked foods were of dubious status: a penitential ascribed to Bede outlined a (mild) penance for those who ate uncooked foods, and Saint Boniface wrote to Pope Zachary (in a letter preserved in the Boniface correspondence , no. 87) asking him how long bacon would have to be cured to be proper for consumption. The kapu system
12688-419: The rest of life. When more or less distinct patterns of behavior are built around this depth dimension in a culture, this structure constitutes religion in its historically recognizable form. Religion is the organization of life around the depth dimensions of experience—varied in form, completeness, and clarity in accordance with the environing culture. Anthropologists Lyle Steadman and Craig T. Palmer emphasized
12810-427: The same culture or across different cultures. Food taboos usually seem to be intended to protect the human individual from harm, spiritually or physically, but there are numerous other reasons given within cultures for their existence. An ecological or medical background is apparent in many, including some that are seen as religious or spiritual in origin. Food taboos can help utilizing a resource, but when applied to only
12932-586: The smaller islands in Melanesia and Polynesia . They became a competitor for limited food resources and thus were themselves eaten. The Austronesian domesticated dogs originally carried by the Lapita Culture migrations were eaten to extinction in many islands since ancient times. Dogs were reintroduced later on from surviving populations in other islands as well as dogs that descended from non-Austronesian Mainland Southeast Asian populations. This caused
13054-413: The term superstitio (which meant too much fear or anxiety or shame) to religiō at times. When religiō came into English around the 1200s as religion, it took the meaning of "life bound by monastic vows" or monastic orders. The compartmentalized concept of religion, where religious and worldly things were separated, was not used before the 1500s. The concept of religion was first used in
13176-450: The use of sewage sludge . The fair trade movement and certification discourage the consumption of food and other goods produced in exploitative working conditions. Other social movements generating taboos include local food and The 100-Mile Diet , both of which encourage abstinence from non-locally produced food, and veganism , in which adherents endeavour not to use or consume animal products of any kind. Judaism strictly forbids
13298-434: The winning tribe. It was reported in 2017 that increasing demand for dog meat (due to the belief it gives more energy) has led politician Anthony Karbo to propose dog meat factories in three northern regions of Ghana. Dogs are eaten by various groups in some states of Nigeria, including Ondo State, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Plateau, Kalaba, Taraba and Gombe of Nigeria. They are believed to have medicinal powers. The meat
13420-521: The word to describe their own belief system. The concept of "ancient religion" stems from modern interpretations of a range of practices that conform to a modern concept of religion, influenced by early modern and 19th century Christian discourse. The concept of religion was formed in the 16th and 17th centuries, despite the fact that ancient sacred texts like the Bible , the Quran , and others did not have
13542-502: The world's population, and 92% of the world either follows one of those four religions or identifies as nonreligious , meaning that the remaining 9,000+ faiths account for only 8% of the population combined. The religiously unaffiliated demographic includes those who do not identify with any particular religion, atheists , and agnostics , although many in the demographic still have various religious beliefs. Many world religions are also organized religions , most definitively including
13664-400: The writings of Josephus in the 1st century CE. It was used in mundane contexts and could mean multiple things from respectful fear to excessive or harmfully distracting practices of others, to cultic practices. It was often contrasted with the Greek word deisidaimonia , which meant too much fear. Religion is a modern concept. The concept was invented recently in the English language and
13786-439: The writings of, for example, Frederick Ferré who defined religion as "one's way of valuing most comprehensively and intensively". Similarly, for the theologian Paul Tillich , faith is "the state of being ultimately concerned", which "is itself religion. Religion is the substance, the ground, and the depth of man's spiritual life." When religion is seen in terms of sacred, divine, intensive valuing, or ultimate concern, then it
13908-518: Was almost extinct in the 1940s, but the British military attaché in Mexico City, Norman Wright, developed a thriving breed from some of the dogs he found in remote villages. The genetic heritage of the breed has been almost erased through interbreeding with other dog breeds to keep its looks alive. The traditional culture surrounding the consumption of dog meat varied from tribe to tribe among
14030-555: Was invented by the Christian Church , and it was in the 19th century that Jews began to see their ancestral culture as a religion analogous to Christianity. The Greek word threskeia , which was used by Greek writers such as Herodotus and Josephus, is found in the New Testament . Threskeia is sometimes translated as "religion" in today's translations, but the term was understood as generic "worship" well into
14152-487: Was left after one of these canine meals was the teeth of the victim – and if it had been a really hard day, these also disappeared. Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were part of the Far Eastern Party , a three-man sledging team with Lieutenant B. E. S. Ninnis , to survey King George V Land, Antarctica. On 14 December 1912 Ninnis fell through a snow-covered crevasse along with most of the party's rations, and
14274-434: Was most often used by the ancient Romans not in the context of a relation towards gods, but as a range of general emotions which arose from heightened attention in any mundane context such as hesitation , caution, anxiety , or fear , as well as feelings of being bound, restricted, or inhibited. The term was also closely related to other terms like scrupulus (which meant "very precisely"), and some Roman authors related
14396-417: Was never seen again. Mawson and Mertz turned back immediately. They had one and a half weeks' food for themselves and nothing at all for the dogs. Their meagre provisions forced them to eat their remaining sled dogs on their 315-mile (507 km) return journey. Their meat was tough, stringy and without a vestige of fat. Each animal yielded very little, and the major part was fed to the surviving dogs, which ate
14518-524: Was no corresponding Japanese word, nor anything close to its meaning, but when American warships appeared off the coast of Japan in 1853 and forced the Japanese government to sign treaties demanding, among other things, freedom of religion, the country had to contend with this idea. According to the philologist Max Müller in the 19th century, the root of the English word religion, the Latin religiō ,
14640-424: Was originally used to mean only reverence for God or the gods, careful pondering of divine things, piety (which Cicero further derived to mean diligence). Müller characterized many other cultures around the world, including Egypt, Persia, and India, as having a similar power structure at this point in history. What is called ancient religion today, they would have only called law. Scholars have failed to agree on
14762-423: Was to avoid the meat of dogs and the other was not to refuse an offer of hospitality . In the myth of his death, the breaking of this geis after being offered a meal of dog flesh removed his invulnerability, allowing him to be killed in battle the next day. Ovid , Plutarch , Pliny , and other Latin authors, describe the sacrifice of puppies ( catulina ) to infernal deities, and for protection against grain-rust,
14884-498: Was used in Hawaii until 1819. Aside from formal rules, there are cultural taboos against the consumption of some animals. Within a given society, some meats will be considered to be not for consumption that are outside the range of the generally accepted definition of a foodstuff. Novel meats, i.e. animal-derived food products not familiar to an individual or to a culture, generally provoke a disgust reaction, which may be expressed as
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