we think of pork as carriers of parasites in the modern world because our supply chain has eliminated them from other commonly eaten meats
Our supply chain has also eliminated them from pork at this point. As far as I know, most trichinosis in the US, at least, is wild game (bear and boar) and home-reared hogs not subject to the controls on commercial hogs.
Also, I liked that article. It seems like the long story short is that the proto-jews and proto-muslims were pastoralists who wouldn’t have raised pigs themselves, and when they butted into neighboring peoples who did raise pigs, that difference became a cultural identifier, and its importance was magnified to the point of becoming an actual prohibition.
Yup. And bobcat, of all things. Last I checked that was the last US confirmed case. (It makes sense since bobcat obviously can get trichinosis, but eating bobcat seems like such an unlikely thing to do)
I didn’t get persnickety on the details there because common understanding hasn’t caught up with the reality of the food safety situation. It’ll take a while before people really accept that you can cook pork medium rare and be just fine, and longer still for tastes to adapt, since the guidelines only officially changed in 2011 and medium rare pork still feels underdone to a lot of people.
Our supply chain has also eliminated them from pork at this point. As far as I know, most trichinosis in the US, at least, is wild game (bear and boar) and home-reared hogs not subject to the controls on commercial hogs.
Also, I liked that article. It seems like the long story short is that the proto-jews and proto-muslims were pastoralists who wouldn’t have raised pigs themselves, and when they butted into neighboring peoples who did raise pigs, that difference became a cultural identifier, and its importance was magnified to the point of becoming an actual prohibition.
Yup. And bobcat, of all things. Last I checked that was the last US confirmed case. (It makes sense since bobcat obviously can get trichinosis, but eating bobcat seems like such an unlikely thing to do)
I didn’t get persnickety on the details there because common understanding hasn’t caught up with the reality of the food safety situation. It’ll take a while before people really accept that you can cook pork medium rare and be just fine, and longer still for tastes to adapt, since the guidelines only officially changed in 2011 and medium rare pork still feels underdone to a lot of people.