de@moscom.UUCP (02/04/86)
Reference article is attached below. A recent article talked about the presence of lard in baked goods, and where and how to draw the line. Judaism also has dietary restrictions, eg not eating pork, shellfish, etc. Orthodox Jews draw a hard line, by not eating pork or pork byproducts. The question naturally arises how does one live in the US of the 1980's and still observe dietary laws, be they Hindu, Moslem or Jewish. Many products are available on the market that meet Jewish dietary requirements, and though my knowledge is sketchy at best, these will also meet some Hindu and Moslem requirements. These can be easily identified by special markings on the package. Most of these are vegetarian, since the use of meat products requires a special slaughtering process. These marks include: (u) : a u in a circle; (k) : a k in a circle; (K : a k with a curved back; A single K does appear on some products and is acceptable by some Jews. I do not use them because the people who use the K tend to take an extremely liberal view of the dietary laws. For example, they feel that gelatin is so far removed from the animal that it does not matter where it came from, althought the animals used could have been unacceptable. The K on Kraft products is acceptable to Orthodox Jews. (Judaism like most religions, suffers from severe political problems, and the abundance of the marks reflects that.) I hope that this will be of help to those with dietary restrictions. If there are any further questions, I will be happy to answer via E-mail or post to the net if there is a need. David Esan (rochester!ritcv!moscom!de) > > As far as vegetarianism goes, it is a personal choice. > > However I find something of a brainwashed :-) fanatic > > in two of my friends, who refuse to touch cookies > > processed with animal lard. Where does one draw the line? > > > > - Ali "Bangalore" Shaik (ihnp4!philabs!ams) > > I see absolutely nothing fanatical about not wanting to eat animal lard. > Vegetarians, at least in India, are against the killing of animals. Thus > animal lard cannot be eaten since it is a product of animal slaughter. > > I would consider a vegetarian (who defines what he does not eat as something > that is a product of animal slaughter) who eats cookies processed with > animal lard contradicting his principles. Incidentally, for those of you > who do not know, most probably Ali is referring to Oreo cookies. Actually, > I see more fanaticism in things like people who eat meat but do not want to > consume blood. > > Incidentally, "Bangalore", are you the same "Bangalore" who used to be at > Stanford? > > Sriram. *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***