When Josh and I started this journey a year ago, we knew that there would be necessary changes that we would have to make in order to be obedient to the Most High. After we read the Torah and recognized that our eating habits did not align with the Most High, we quickly ransacked the freezer and deep freezer in an effort to rid our home of all the unclean food.
Up until recently, we truly believed that we were eating clean. It wasn't until one of Josh's students mentioned that they didn't eat Skittles anymore because they used pork (gelatin) as one of the ingredients. We were baffled and realized that maybe all the memes that are plaguing our Instagram threads were actually hinting to something. After digging into it, we quickly realized that we still were consuming and using pork by-products that were masquerading under the guise of misleading ingredient names.
If you do not know or understand why our family recognize clean and unclean animals, let me explain. As you should know by now, my family choose to shema (to hear and do) the laws, commands, and statutes of Yahuah that are outlined in the first five book of the Bible (the Torah) and exemplified all throughout scripture. We also believe that the Hamishiach is our King and that He is our example. Yes, even He, observed and kept the Torah; He was sinless and sin is defined by the Torah.
According to Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, Yahuah outlines what is considered clean and unclean. What my husband and I have come to understand about the animals mentioned there (and in general) is that Yahuah created them and knows exactly how they effect our bodies. The animals that He deems as unclean are animals that are the filters of the land, air, and sea. Simply put, they filter the toxins an filth of the earth and typically their bodies do not allow for those toxins to leak back out into the environment. These toxins are what effect our bodies negatively.
If you don't want to take the scriptures as the end all be all — which that should be enough — consider what researchers have discovered about pigs, specifically, and their by-products.
For starters, pigs do not have sweat glands, so they collect toxins in their body which is stored in their meat, organs, and fats. These toxins are then transferred to humans, causing severe health concerns. In fact, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there has been a rise in disease outbreaks from 1998 to 2018 which are linked to pork. They stated that from 2015-2018, alone, these pork-related disease outbreaks were increased by 73 percent.
According to Healthline, pork can put you at risk for Hepatitis E, Multiple Sclerosis, liver cancer and cirrhosis and Yersinia which are all life threatening illnesses for human. In addition, the CDC and United States Department of Agriculture acknowledges that pigs also carry and transfer the Ascariasis, Trichinella spiralis, and Toxoplasma gondii parasite to humans.
Please don't take my word for it, do your own research and make your own decision. As for me and my house, however, we will serve Yahuah and follow the dietary laws outlined in scripture.
If you decide to shema, the table below outlines which ingredients disguises pork and pork-by products in common products that you may use everyday. As I find products that contain these ingredients, I will do my best to update the chart below.
Shalom,
Brittanny
Cdc (2018). Ascariasis From Pigs- General Information - Frequently Asked Questions (faqs).
Retrieved on January 3, 2019.
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/ascariasis/gen_info/faqs_pigs.html
D. Minger (2017). Is Pork Bad For You? 4 Hidden Dangers. Retrieved on January 3, 2019.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-pork-bad
H.R. Gramble (1997). Parasites associated with pork and pork products. Rev. sci. tech. Off. int.
Epiz., 1997,16 (2), 496-506. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720
Self, J. L., Luna-Gierke, R. E., Fothergill, A., Holt, K. G., & Vieira, A. R. (2017). Outbreaks attributed
to pork in the United States, 1998–2015. 145(14), 2980-2990.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268817002114
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