Are certain foods immoral?

Figs by Chris Vanhove

Are certain foods immoral?
Wednesday – December 17, 2025

When it comes to food and really the moral efficacy of certain foods, I hold two perspectives: one is a metaphysical perspective based on major religious traditions, and the other is material and something that I have rather lightly covered in the past.

    From a metaphysical point of view, it's clear that certain traditions favor certain foods over others, and it's also clear that many of these traditions, such as Islam and Judaism, regard certain foods as immoral. I do not intend to cover the specific reasons why certain foods may or may not be considered immoral, but basically by holding certain foods or certain animals products as immoral you create a clear dilatation between good and bad, and in the case of pork it's clear from an Islamic perspective that pigs are considered both dirty but also close to humans. Yes, think about pork and really many other forms of meat this way: How would society turn out if people were allowed, in good conscience, to eat an animal that very closely resembles man? Would such a society not turn to cannibalism? Would the liberal and lavish allowance of this behavior not be the precursor to cannibalism? What does this even say about humanity and about the world? Yes, it's true that modern men have completely lost their sense when it comes to food, and yes the only animals that they regard as off limits are usually pets and animals that would cause great distress, materially, if eaten. But of course, animal products, as modern men call them, aren't the only thing that makes up food: there are many other things such as vegetables, corn, wheat, etc that make something into a food. I guess what I'm trying to get at here is the seemingly liberal nature of modern cuisines. But let's also turn to foods that many traditions regard as good for you: these foods often include fruits and vegetables such as figs. Why is it that the abrahamic traditions tend to favor figs? Well, modern men would simply lament the fact that in the region of the Middle East mostly concerned in the Bible and the Qur'an there's a natural habitat for fig trees and that this is the "natural" explanation for them being frequently mentioned in the Bible and the Qur'an. I will not attempt to engage with this argument other than by simply stating this: I believe that from a metaphysical point of view one could say that the abrahamic traditions where born out of a culture that cultivates figs, and that this should be taken as a sign of Jehovah's divine providence, that he put man among fig trees. I don't see the contradiction, but then again I am not making a purely material argument here. Of course, if one turns to the traditions of Hindustani paganism, often referred to as simply Hinduism, it becomes clear that many schools of thought regard the consumption of any meat as immoral, and within Hinduism you even have the first strains of vegetarianism and veganism. I will add that many Hindus still consume meat often fowl, but most Hindus regard cows as a sacred symbol of Lord Shiva, and it would be very offensive and indeed a crime to the good conscience of most Hindus to consume beef; often there can be tensions and sometimes even violent disputes among Islamic communities and Hindu communities over the consumption of beef. At any rate, it's clear that in the lives of most humans foods serve not merely a material purpose but can really serve as a ceremonial act, something that connects them to the creator and to the creation, and this would even indeed hold true from a purely material perspective.

    From a material point of view, really from the point of view of modern men, there are actually foods that are immoral. As I covered in my previously mentioned post about fasting, there are many foods and many addictions that will cause your body and your health great harm, and in our times theses foods tend to create or promote obesity and addiction; I regard these foods as immoral and many men of primarily material persuasion wold concur. When the food that you consume makes you unhealthy and sick then that food is immoral. I believe too, something that I recently covered, that beauty can serve as a measure even in a moral sense. While most modern men attempt to escape from the many insightful perspectives of life, they also attempt to avoid many material truths, such as the fact that most people who are fat lead not only an unhealthy lifestyle but indeed an immoral lifestyle, and in a sense these people represent advanced cases of the beast. So, materially it's not only that foods that promote ill-health are immoral but the consumption of these foods are also immoral, and this actually maps onto the metaphysical view as well: foods themselves aren't only immoral but the consumption and the promotion of these foods are also immoral. Of course, there are very many materialist reasons why the capitalist production base promotes foods that cannot sustain your soul or your body, and you will have to read about that here.

    In the end, only you can decide whether you will consume food that is immoral, but at least I've attempted here to provide some very insightful and good reasons as to why these foods are considered immoral. Actually, I do recommend eating figs, because they are not only considered a moral food, they also do promote better health and they can serve to promote a better vital essence.

Reginald Drax – December 17, 2025.