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( Taboo food and drink)
Taboo food and drinks are food and drink which people abstain from consuming for religious or cultural reasons. Food taboos are often codified in a culture as rules about foods which may not be eaten, rules regarding how food is to be slaughtered, and prohibited combinations of food (some foods, even though permissible in themselves, are not allowed in combination). Some foods may also be prohibited during certain festivals, even though normally allowed; and some foods may be prohibited only to particular classes of people (e.g. priests), but allowed for others. Various religions forbid the consumption of certain types of food. For example, Judaism prescribes a strict set of rules, called Kashrut, regarding what may and may not be eaten. In Islamic practice, the laws of Haram and Halal dictate which foods may not be eaten. The meat of swine, blood and intoxicants are forbidden by the Quran. Hindus, and Jains often follow religious directives to observe vegetarianism and avoid eating meat. Hinduism has no specific proscriptions against eating meat, so some Hindus do eat meat. However, many other Hindus apply the concept of "ahimsa" (non-violence) to their diet, so they advocate and practice forms of vegetarianism. Due to philosophical differences and dietary needs among many modern Indian Hindus, all meat is considered a taboo except mutton, goat, chicken and fish. Aside from overt taboos there are unconscious cultural taboos against the consumption of some animals. For example, even though there is no law against eating dog meat in the United States and Europe, it is widely considered unacceptable. In Southeast Asia, most countries excluding Vietnam rarely consume dog meat either because of Islamic or Buddhist values or animal rights as in the Philippines. Similarly, horse meat is rarely eaten in the US and UK. However, horse meat is commonly consumed in numerous other countries where it is considered a delicacy, including Kazakhstan, Russia, Japan, and France.
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