How Does Culture & Religion Affect The Types Of Food/Meat You Can Consume - Essay Example

? How does culture & religion affect the types of food/meat you can consume? This topic is significant because Food taboos are known from virtually all societies. Certain religious beliefs prohibit some foods while others are declared fit for consumption. This rules and regulations touches on certain phases of the human life cycle and may be linked to special events such as menstrual period, childbirth, lactation, pregnancy, and in traditional societies – preparation for the hunt, battle, wedding, funeral and others. On a comparative basis, many food taboos seem to make no sense at all, as to what may be said unfit by one group may be totally acceptable to another (Ojwang, 2011). On the other side, food taboos have a long history and one have to expect a well explanation for the existence of certain dietary customs in particular cultures. However, no single theory may explain why people embrace special food taboos. This paper wants to bring back interest in food taboo research and apply a functionalist's explanation. Nevertheless, to highlight some of the modalities of probable reasons for food taboo certain examples have been chosen, such as traditional food taboos in orthodox Jewish and Hindu societies as well as reports on aspects of dietary restrictions in communities with traditional lifestyles of Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and Nigeria. A medical background is particular for many, including some that are perceived as religious in origin. On one hand, food taboos can assist in utilizing a resource more effectively; contrary, these taboos can guarantee conservation of some resources. These taboos, whether scientifically ascertained, are usually meant to protect the human individual and that certain allergies and depression are linked with each other and could lead to declaring food items taboo that were identified as causal agents for the allergies. Additionally, any food taboo recognized by a particular group of people as part of its ways help in bringing togetherness to the group, it aid a particular group distinct itself from others, and therefore bring the feeling of togetherness. There is this question being put across as to why animals don’t eat the same kind of food. This often look like it is a funny question, but it is important question than one could think. Additionaly, to grow and live, animals allover require the same basic things: carbohydrates, protein, fats, some minerals and water. Then why should we have this different variety of food on the planet earth. Heterotrophic organism all need almost the same kind of food stuffs but because of their different sizes, different habitats, and different anatomies this variety of species will need different foodstuffs to satisfy their need (Abdussalam & Kaferstein, 1996). A lion can also eat a mouse and a dog can eat a zebra but they are not built for this category of food stuffs. Same with grazers like cows they don’t climb threes and giraffes on the other hand can’t graze on the ground. Additionally, it is a Natural that, where there exist resource that is not yet exploited, it often becomes a matter of time before organism discovers and uses it. However, high competition for one and the same kind of food by some species definitely would lead to the extinction of one of them or it would lead to the same species occupying different niches, either with regard to the food itself or the timing of feeding. It is now somehow clear why different species with different habitats and anatomies use certain food items, also with regard to specific species there are also different food specialties and therefore it is no obvious why individuals of the same species should prefer certain resources (Abdussalam & Kaferstein, 1996). It is therefore capturing the attention why the same adults of the same species and gender will prefer different foodstuffs yet they are equally built. Some competition could be at play, varying collecting skills and strategies, acquired through learning could also be another because. There could also be another hidden physiological feature that could be the cause. Nonetheless, no ecologist would use the term "food taboo" to describe intraspecific food preferences of this kind in animals, but when it comes to humans we do use the term "food taboo" (Abdussalam & Kaferstein, 1996). It is nonetheless used to imply to a specific avoidance of a food item for reasons other than simple dislike from food preferences. In other mammals other than human beings, stronger individuals may force weaker ones to accept less sought-after food items, and a liking for these originally less-sought after food could actually develop. Certain aspect of this scenario may also be true to human societies, as food taboos can be forced onto individuals by outsiders or by members of the kinship group to manifest themselves through instruction and example during upbringing. Different people have varying views on what makes up a "food taboo". In General, a taboo prohibits someone from engaging in certain things, e.g., killing a certain animal, eating certain food, eating at certain festivals, or touching sacred objects". Taboos represent social rules that are not written yet regulate human behavior" and define the "in-group". According to Barfield there may be as many as 300 reasons for particular avoidances which can magnify effects of seasonal or other restrictions on nutritional intake and may put women at nutritional risk during critical periods in their reproductive cycle. Research in to the Jews and Hinduism communities showed that there are Jewish dietary laws and Hindu practices. Research stays in India of 2 months and three weeks during sabbaticals in 1990 and 2005 as well as a Brahmin Indian wife further helped gathering the necessary information for the section on Hindu food taboos. Jewish laws for example have certain sentiments also found in Hindu taboos, illustrate how food taboos with origins have roots in religion, promotion of health together with protection of life integrate to form a set of rules that unite people of the same culture and create group cohesion (Victor, 2009). During atonement day, no Jew will eat or drink anything for 24 hours. In the first nine months therefore of the month of 'Av', as a way of mourning, there is certainly no eating of meat. On Passover there is no consumption of anything that is leavened or rather it cannot enter the Jews home. Different seasons and festivals often go with certain food preferences: the matzah has become the bread of menace on Passover; fish is preferred during the Sabbath; Jews New Year eve cannot go without honey and apples (Victor, 2009). Throughout the year a Jew will be very conscious on seasons and festivals and dietary laws. Milk products also cannot be consumed together with meat. Kitchen items like utensils that keep foodstuffs like meat cannot be kept together with other with different food items. To this community, an animal that can be eaten must chew the cud and should have a cloven hoof, for birds they must have wings whereas aquatic animals should have fins and scales (Sachdeva, Singh, & Medin, 2011). Oysters, lobsters, creatures that creep on the ground, and worms found in vegetables are all not edible. To ingest blood of any animal is totally not permitted, some animals have to be slaughtered as per some of the laws and if they are not of a domesticated species their blood must be covered with earth after slaughter" for it to be fit for consumption. Animal that has died naturally cannot be eaten and also the procedure for slaughtering should be with a very sharp knife so as to be painless as possible (Sachdeva, Singh, & Medin, 2011). An animal cannot also be taken down with its young one at the same time. From the biblical perspective human being was not allowed to eat meat until after floods. Although as part of the holy sacrifice of animals to God the consumption of kosher meat had been allowed. Later, when all Jewish people became considered a "kingdom of priests", the priestly rules with regard to the consumption of "clean" meat, were extended to the whole community (Wilson, 1980). Then also it was only a special person who was allowed o take down an animal. And on holy days like the Sabbath no killing of animals was permissible. Dietary laws are not always clear and there is often room for interpretation. Christian 'Seventh Day Adventists' follow many of the Jewish/Biblical dietary laws. Seventh Day Adventists declare all intoxicating and addictive drinks prohibited but in the Jews there is a place for wine, coffee, and tea (Wilson, 1980). The Jews also forbid gluttony and drunkenness. If the avoidance of a certain food item gives an immediate result, for instance, absence of certain stomach reaction, we can assign a proximate cause to the food item being avoided (Haidt, Koller, & Dias, 1993). However, if the results of a food taboo are not instantly seen and may take a very long time to show up, then the main causes have to be addressed. For specialties in research into food and culture the is insurmountable difficulty is that proximate and ultimate causes of food taboos may overlap and, in fact, cannot always be separated. Some research question 1) What is the actual thing informing different important part of religious observance of different faiths with food? I.e. Christianity, Hinduism and Judaism 2) What are the exact role of food prohibition practices and religious beliefs in complex and various individuals and communities? The importance of this topic in multicultural psychology is because it poses the questions that are key to psychologist understanding of individual’s behavior for example, why do some people choose to eat only certain kinds of food, e.g. Vegetables, believing that it is wrong to eat animals. Why do some vegetarians will eat eggs and fish, yet some will not eat anything that has been part of an animal. Why do some people eat things that other people would not even imagine eating e.g., octopus, ants, and seaweed, grubs, leaves and insects? The importance of this topic with regard to multicultural psychology is because Food and culture occupy many people daily thoughts, to be specific the young kids who are still growing up. It also discusses how cultures differ in their food preferences and their beliefs about the good and ill effects of certain foods. Also understand the reasons for nutritional and dietary customs in any religion require a brief orientation of the rationale for such practices and laws as psychologist would. Many religious customs and laws may also be traced to early concerns for health and safety in consuming any foodstuffs. Back in the old days, preservation methods for food limited. Current effective ways such as electricity were not there, and the scholars back then did not understand theories of health improvement, illness and disease prevention as it is in modern days. It also has psychology importance because of its individual identity dimension. DG: “I will start with Brillat, this thing or rather writing that people always cite: ‘Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are.’ The reason why people keeps referring to that is because, like with other aphorisms, there’s a lot of truth to it. We can look into food and identity in many diverse ways. However, it has to do with the individual. Many, who have brought children up, know that probably at a particular point in their lives, they will announce, ‘I’m not going to eat that; I’m vegetarian.’ It’s one of the primary assertions of individual identity or in the case that the parents are vegetarian and the kid says, ‘I’m going to eat meat.’ It’s a way of differentiating oneself. You’re vegetarian, you’re vegan, you’re freegan, you are a raw foodist and many others, whatever it might be, it is a badge. On collective identity is that there are different kinds of group identity as in psychology. One can have religious identity based on what he eats. As known today, whenever there is Passover there is matzo over there, and that’s a way of differentiating ourselves from others who eat bread at this time of year (Haidt, Koller, & Dias, 1993). It’s true also for the choice of whether to eat pork, mix meat and milk, or eat beef. There are also ethnic identities, which I think is really complex, because it has to do with geographical boundaries, regional identities and also ethnic groups. In terms of ethnic groups, you often find pejoratives having to do with what one eats.” Goldstein gave in the past an example of “frogs” for the French or “Krauts” for Germans, who ate a lot of sauerkraut. “You have socioeconomic identities and again, you have many slurs that come into play (Yoo, Saliba, & Prenzler, 2010). You think about the terms ‘grit’ or ‘cracker,’ as associated with poor people in the South prefer eating grits, but they are awesome and extremely of good health. Some food preferences are innate and largely universal (e.g., desire for highly-caloric food sources) whereas others are learned. It’s the notion that our taste perceptions are biased by imagining, and if one think that food will taste sweet or good it actually will. (Yoo, Saliba, & Prenzler, 2010). However, expectation assimilation also works to the contrary. If you expect a food to taste bad, it will. It is also important because we first must consider ways of thinking about how culture and religion relate to each other: Religion may be tied together with culture, part of it, be informed by culture, influence culture, or work together with culture in influencing cognitions, emotions, and actions (Yoo, Saliba, & Prenzler, 2010). It also presents the major current trends of relevant research from psychology of cross culture, cultural and social psychology, and psychology of religion. Although diverging in methods, focus on research, and theory of traditions, and this strategy supports one another increasing our psychological understanding of the inter-relations between culture and religious beliefs. lastly, we put forth the findings in writings of this complex issue that offer advanced theory, test new research hypotheses, and provide empirical evidence showing how cultural-level dimensions (from ecology and biology to ethnicity, family practices, and socio-economic factors) shape religion’s functioning at the individual and/or collective level with regard to key life domains. References Yoo, Y. J., Saliba, A. J., & Prenzler, P. D. (September 01, 2010). Should Red Wine Be Considered a Functional Food? Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 9, 5, 530-551. Haidt, J., Koller, S. H., & Dias, M. G. (January 01, 1993). Affect, culture, and morality, or is it wrong to eat your dog? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 4, 613-28 Sachdeva, S., Singh, P., & Medin, D. (June 01, 2011). Culture and the quest for universal principles in moral reasoning. International Journal of Psychology, 46, 3, 161-176. Wilson, C. S. (January 01, 1980). Food taboos of childbirth: The Malay example. Food, Ecology and Culture, 67-74. Meyer-Rochow, Victor. (2009). Food taboos: their origins and purposes. (BioMed Central Ltd.) BioMed Central Ltd Abdussalam, M., & Kaferstein, F. (January 01, 1996). Food beliefs and taboos. World Health: Published for the Non-Technical Reader by the World Health Organization, 49, 2, 10 Johnson, K., White, A., Boyd, B., & Cohen, A. (January 01, 2011). Matzah, Meat, Milk, and Mana: Psychological Influences on Religio-Cultural Food Practices. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42, 8, 1421-1436. Ojwang, D. (September 01, 2011). “Eat pig and become a beast”: Food, Drink and Diaspora in East African Indian Writing. Research in African Literatures, 42, 3, 68-87 Read More