ABSTRACT
The path to vegetarianism or veganism is typically gradual and unscripted. The usual moral (compassionate or environmental) and health motivations set goals to cut back or eliminate meat consumption, but there are no formal or informal instructions for how to achieve these goals. Instead, individuals make up their own evolving set of rules. In contrast, the rejection of pork (and other prohibitions) are precisely specified in the Orthodox Jewish tradition, which considers and resolves situations where there would otherwise be indecision. The contrast is clear for the issue of meat contamination, where the sympathetic magical “law” of contagion comes into play. This chapter, largely constituted by a debate between two fictional Orthodox Jewish rabbis, one a vegan and the other an omnivore, illustrates how some aspects of a path to vegetarianism could be scripted, with the aim of reducing but not eliminating conflict situations. The Hebrew tradition raises and attempts to solve some of the practical and conceptual problems of enacting prohibitions. A discussion following the dialogue deals with the similarities and differences between the Kosher dietary prohibitions and the Hindu beef prohibition, and the path to vegetarianism.
