Why is Pig unclean?

Why is Pig unclean?

Pig as we all know is an animal that lives in the filth and dirt. It was said in the Holy Scriptures by God that Eat not his flesh, nor touch his dead carcass”. Pig is considered as the mark of sin and disease. Pigs are omnivores and hence they tend to eat anything on the earth. In some of the places in the world pigs were domesticated since a long time in some rural areas. They are domesticated for pig toilets. It was ecological and economical to have pig toilets in rural areas while they are now replaced with sewage system and septic tanks. Pig toilet is a kind of toilet that is constructed in such a way that the pig sty is connected to the toilet. It is arranged in such a way that pigs consume the feces from the toilet. So, pigs are said to be unclean. These pig toilets are becoming unpopular.

Some nonreligious Jewish scholars formed an opinion that unclean animals are those that cause problems to the public health. The unclean animals like pigs and other animals can cause poisoning of food or transmit diseases to the people who eat their flesh. The commitment of Jews to God and their community was established as viewed by the scholars. The religious people according to the words of the Scriptures avoided eating the meat of the pig. Avoiding eating the meat of pigs is according to the devout Christians, a penance which is performed against greed and honoring the Christ for his suffering and death. Paying respects to their religion was more important for the Christians than to stop eating unclean food” like pig meat.

According to Islam too, swine is considered to be unclean by the Quran (Islamic religious book) and they were instructed not to touch or eat its flesh. Scientifically speaking, pigs can carry many harmful organisms on them which can transmit to humans, diseases like trichinosis, Taenia solium, cysticercosis, and brucellosis. Pigs are found to be having many parasitic worms in their digestive tract which can be transferred to the humans either by air or by pork. Hence, pigs are said to be unclean.