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Comment by dhosek | Hacker News Reader

There’s a part of me that kind of wonders whether the Jewish Kashrut laws are meant to protect the most intelligent animals: the best-known laws (cloven feet, does not chew the cud, that which swims in the sea but does not have scales) end up protecting pigs, cetaceans and cephalapods (plus other stuff that’s not so bright, but put that aside).

There’s no rational reason to believe this, of course, but it’s still fun to imagine in a sort of Erik von Däniken way.

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I’ve often wondered similarly about Islamic codes which prohibit the eating of sentient pigs and dogs; perhaps the ancients knew that calling them “dirty” was the only practical way to protect them from the mouths of the masses.

That man may not have the respect of any academic community but damn it if he isn't entertaining to watch.

On a more on-topic note, our growing understanding of animal intelligence has definitely made it harder for me to justify eating certain kinds of meat. My day-to-day is a bit too stressful to make the switch entirely to vegetarianism, but once my financial and personal situations have settled I'm looking forward to a less guilty lived experience. (This is of course not to say that you should feel guilty for eating meat - just my personal take)

I don’t eat cephalopods because of their intelligence. I would do the same with pigs, but the problem is that they’re so delicious.

As a person who made the switch after realizing how intelligent these animals are, I can honestly say that it's worth it if you do decide to. However, I also understand why you would continue to eat meat. It was probably one of the harder things I've done in my life.

I would totally be a vegetarian if it weren’t for the whole not eating meat part. Everything else about it strongly appeals to me.

I've tried to imagine judaism as an ancient barbecue cult with the mentions of how god likes the aroma of burnt meat in the old testament

I blame this on watching Babylon 5 when I was younger (spoiler: same souls), but when they started using animal organs and heart valves in human surgery, it made (religious) sense to me that it was going to be pig.

As you say, not a really rational belief, but I always like it when disperate ideologies point in similar directions.

I think rationally, it's far more likely that Kashrut laws were designed to protect humans from eating certain more risky animals, especially 3-4,000 years ago in a place with high heat and little refridgeration, but I'll never actually know.

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