Why did religions make food rules?

0:00 Welcome to Philosophy is not boring by Kidopoly.com. I'm Mira. And I'm Finn. Before we start exploring today, we have a very special birthday shout-out. A very happy belated 8th birthday to Linden in the Netherlands.

0:16 Happy birthday, Linden! We hear you're listening with your sister Lydia, your mum and your dad, and we really hope you had a fantastic celebration.

0:25 And if you haven't already, tap follow wherever you're listening so you never miss an episode.

0:30 So, Mira, since we were just talking about Linden's birthday in the Netherlands, it got me thinking about birthday food. Like a giant chocolate cake with candles. Food is probably the absolute best part of any celebration.

0:45 It definitely is. We all love eating. But have you ever stopped to think about how food isn't just about giving our bodies fuel or even just tasting delicious?

0:56 Well, what else is it about? It's just food, right? You get hungry, you eat a sandwich. Simple.

1:04 For a lot of people, yes. But what if your lunchbox actually told a whole story about the biggest things you believe in the world? What if a simple sandwich could show what you think is right and wrong, or how you think the universe works? Wait, a sandwich can do that? How? That is exactly what we are exploring today.

1:24 We're asking a really big question. Why do so many religions have rules about food?

1:29 Rules about food? You mean like my mum saying I have to eat my broccoli before I can have dessert?

1:36 Heh, not quite like that. We are talking about ancient rules that have been around for hundreds or even thousands of years. Rules that billions of people follow every single day, at every single meal.

1:49 Okay, so what kind of ancient rules are we talking about? Give me an example.

1:54 Let's start with a really common one. If you have Jewish friends, you might know that many of them eat food that is kosher. Kosher? What does that mean exactly? It's a set of rules that go all the way back to ancient times. One of the biggest rules in keeping kosher is that you never mix meat and dairy in the same meal.

2:16 Wait, really? So you couldn't have a cheeseburger, because that's meat and cheese together.

2:22 Exactly. No cheeseburgers, no having a glass of milk with a chicken dinner. And Muslims have their own food rules called halal, which means food that is lawful or permitted by their faith. For example, they make sure meat is prepared in a very specific, respectful way, and they never eat pork.

2:43 But why? Did someone just decide thousands of years ago that they didn't like how pork tasted, or that cheeseburgers were bad for you?

2:52 That's the really interesting part, Finn. It's not about being picky at all, and it's not even just about being healthy. For most of human history, eating was just a basic, messy animal thing you had to do to survive. You found food, you ate it, end of story. But religions took this ordinary, everyday human thing and made it sacred.

3:16 Sacred? Like holy? But it's just dinner. That's exactly why it's so brilliant. Think about it. You eat three times a day. If you have to pause before you eat and think, wait, does this meal follow the rules of my faith? It becomes a daily reminder of who you are.

3:35 Oh, I get it. It's like setting a reminder on a phone, except the reminder is your dinner plate. It forces you to stop and remember your beliefs, instead of just gobbling down your food.

3:47 Exactly. It turns your dining table into a place where belief meets real life every single day.

3:54 Okay, so some rules remind you of who you are. But what about the rules themselves? Like, why no pork or why not mix milk and meat?

4:03 For some of those rules, believers say it's simply about obeying God, even if humans don't fully understand all the reasons. But other food rules have a very clear philosophy behind them. Let's look at Hinduism and Jainism, which both started in ancient India. Do they have rules about meat and milk too?

4:23 Actually, many Hindus are entirely vegetarian, and followers of Jainism take it even further. They believe deeply in a concept called ahimsa. Ahimsa? What does that mean? It translates to total non-violence. It's the belief that you should try not to harm any living creature. So they don't eat meat at all, because that means an animal had to lose its life.

4:47 Well that makes a lot of sense. If you truly believe that hurting living things is wrong, you wouldn't want to eat them.

4:54 But what do they eat instead? Lots of delicious things. Grains, beans, vegetables, lentils, and fruit. It is a really rich and amazing way to cook. But here's where it gets really amazing. Many Jane adults will even avoid eating root vegetables, like potatoes, onions, carrots, or garlic.

5:15 Wait, what? Potatoes aren't animals. You can't hurt a potato, can you?

5:21 It's not the potato itself they are worried about. To harvest a root vegetable, you have to pull up the whole plant by its roots, which ends the plant's life. Plus, digging in the dirt might accidentally squish tiny insects living in the soil.

5:37 Wow, they even think about the tiny bugs in the dirt. That's incredibly kind. It sounds like they are paying attention to every single bite they take.

5:47 They really are. It makes eating a practice of extreme kindness. You aren't just filling your stomach, you are thinking about your connection to the whole world of living things around you.

5:58 Okay, so avoiding certain foods can be about kindness or about remembering your faith. Are there any other reasons for food rules?

6:05 Yes. Sometimes the rules aren't just about what you eat, but when you eat. For example, in countries like Thailand, many Buddhist monks eat their main meals in the morning, and they don't eat any solid food after midday.

6:20 Nothing after midday? But wouldn't they get super hungry by bedtime? I need my afternoon snacks.

6:26 Oh, don't worry, Finn. Children are still growing and need all their meals. Fasting, which means choosing not to eat for a certain amount of time, is only something grown-ups choose to do.

6:37 Oh, phew. Good. But why do the adult monks skip dinner? What's the philosophy there?

6:43 The Buddha taught that a lot of our unhappiness comes from constantly wanting things. We are always craving stuff. By choosing not to eat in the evening, monks are practicing not being controlled by their cravings. Plus, it gives them a clearer mind and more time to meditate.

7:01 That's really interesting. It's like they are showing themselves that they are the boss of their own bodies, not their stomach rumblings.

7:08 Exactly. And Christians have historically done something similar. For centuries, many Christians gave up eating meat on Fridays. And today, many still give up a favourite treat during a time of year called Lent. So they give up something they like on purpose, just to make things hard? Not to make things hard, but to make a small sacrifice.

7:30 It's a way to practice discipline and turn their attention away from everyday comforts, focusing it instead on God.

7:37 Wait, so all these rules kosher, halal, Jain vegetarianism, Buddhist fasting, Christian Lent, they use the most ordinary thing in the world, eating, to practice the biggest ideas in their religion.

7:50 Yes! You've completely nailed it, Finn! And that's why this matters to all of us, even if we don't follow any of these rules ourselves. How does it matter to me?

8:01 I usually just eat whatever my parents put in front of me.

8:05 Well, think about when families move to a new country. Often, the very last thing they lose is their food traditions. Around mid-October every year, people celebrate World Food Day, which reminds us how food connects people all over the globe. Sharing a food rule is one of the oldest ways humans have found to say we belong together.

8:28 I kind of love that. It's like an invisible string connecting a huge family all over the world. Next time I sit down for dinner, I'm going to think about how many millions of families are sitting down right at that very second, sharing their own special rules and feeling totally connected to each other.

8:48 It's a beautiful thing to wonder about.

8:51 Now, are you ready for a mind-bending fun fact before we get to the quiz? Always. Lay it on me. The Jewish rules for kosher food are written in an ancient text called the Torah in the Book of Leviticus. That means some of these exact food rules have been followed continuously for over 3,000 years.

9:13 3,000 years? That's older than ancient Rome. That is a lot of people over a lot of centuries saying no to cheeseburgers.

9:23 It really is. It just shows how powerful a shared meal can be. It outlasts empires. Alright, Finn, it's quiz time. Let's see how much we remember.

9:34 Okay, I'm ready. Do your best.

9:37 First question. What do we call the Jewish food rules that say you cannot mix meat and milk? Next one. What is the name of the Islamic food rules that mean permitted or lawful? Question three. What is the word for the belief in non-violence that leads Jains and many Hindus to not eat meat? Here's number four.

10:12 Why do adult Jain followers sometimes avoid eating root vegetables like potatoes? Last question. When do Buddhist monks in Thailand usually stop eating solid food for the day? Great job! Let's go through the answers and see how you did. The first answer is the Jewish food rules are called kosher. For question two, the Islamic food rules are called halal.

10:46 Number three, the answer is the word for non-violence is Ahimsa. Question four, they avoid root vegetables so they don't kill the plant or hurt tiny bugs in the dirt. And the final answer is, Buddhist monks usually stop eating solid food after midday.

11:07 That was such a cool episode, Mira. Food really is like a daily language that people speak together.

11:13 It really is. Even if we don't all follow the same rules, thinking about why people eat the way they do helps us understand each other so much better. It turns a boring old sandwich into a piece of history.

11:27 If you enjoyed exploring the dinner table with us today, we'd love it if you left us a five-star review.

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11:42 Oh, and we have sister shows too. Make sure you follow this show and go check out History and Science's Not Boring and Maths is Not Boring. Go give those a listen and a follow as well.

11:54 And if you want to shout out on the show, or just want to say hi and tell us what you've been wondering about, email us at hello at kidopoly.com. We'd love to hear what your favourite dinner tradition is.

12:08 Thanks for thinking with us today. See you next time on Philosophy is not boring.

12:13 Bye everyone! Happy eating!