Chinese diet
The Chinese diet
I am Chinese, and the current COVID 19 disease supposedly has its origins with the Chinese diet. SARS and the SARS-CoV-2 virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ) are believed to have originated from wet markets in China where life wild game and poultry were sold and eaten.
Chinese people are known to eat anything that is possibly edible,
Quotes from history
In 1832, the American diplomat Edmund Roberts visited Guangzhou. He described the residents as "gross gluttons," saying that "everything that will supply the place of food, whether of the sea, or the land, and articles most disgusting to other people, are by them greedily devoured."
The French writer Simone de Beauvoir—reporting on her tour of China in the summer of 1955—wrote in The Long March (1958): "'Oh, yes,' the poet Ai Ts'ing told me one evening at the table, 'we eat everything: everything on four legs except the table; and except for our friends and relations, everything on two.'"
Amanda Bennett in the Wall Street Journal of October 4, 1983: "Cantonese will eat anything in the sky but airplanes, anything in the sea but submarines and anything with four legs but the table."
Prince Philip said before a 1986 World Wildlife Fund conference: "If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it."
A Chinese joke "How do we know that Adam and Eve were not Chinese?" "Because they would have thrown away the apple and eaten the snake."
My grandparents and parents told me that the Chinese would eat anything because, in Chinese history, frequent natural disasters caused people to be practical and flexible in their diet. Religions as in Judaism/ Islam / Hinduism do not hold back the Chinese menu. Therefore its food has become more diverse and vibrant than many other ancient cultures.
When I was young, I have eaten
Pigeons taste like chicken. Frog legs flesh are smooth and sweet. I remembered blood was congealed into cubes and served with other pig organs in a soup. Blood was bland. Chicken feet are a delicacy in China, Vietnam and Korea. It is a combination of skin (soft) and tendons ( crunchy). Chicken feet is commonly sold at Tim Sum outlets. Tim Sun is a type of Hong Kong food. And I like chicken feet. When I was in primary school, my mom cooked chicken feet before my physical fitness test. She said eating them helps me run faster. And I did believe this when I was young. I can't remember the taste of bats. For many years, Singapore had already prohibited animal blood food products as blood promotes the growth of bacteria and harbour diseases.
Pics of some Singapore food
The Chinese diet
I am Chinese, and the current COVID 19 disease supposedly has its origins with the Chinese diet. SARS and the SARS-CoV-2 virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ) are believed to have originated from wet markets in China where life wild game and poultry were sold and eaten.
Chinese people are known to eat anything that is possibly edible,
Quotes from history
In 1832, the American diplomat Edmund Roberts visited Guangzhou. He described the residents as "gross gluttons," saying that "everything that will supply the place of food, whether of the sea, or the land, and articles most disgusting to other people, are by them greedily devoured."
The French writer Simone de Beauvoir—reporting on her tour of China in the summer of 1955—wrote in The Long March (1958): "'Oh, yes,' the poet Ai Ts'ing told me one evening at the table, 'we eat everything: everything on four legs except the table; and except for our friends and relations, everything on two.'"
Amanda Bennett in the Wall Street Journal of October 4, 1983: "Cantonese will eat anything in the sky but airplanes, anything in the sea but submarines and anything with four legs but the table."
Prince Philip said before a 1986 World Wildlife Fund conference: "If it has got four legs and it is not a chair, if it has two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it."
A Chinese joke "How do we know that Adam and Eve were not Chinese?" "Because they would have thrown away the apple and eaten the snake."
My grandparents and parents told me that the Chinese would eat anything because, in Chinese history, frequent natural disasters caused people to be practical and flexible in their diet. Religions as in Judaism/ Islam / Hinduism do not hold back the Chinese menu. Therefore its food has become more diverse and vibrant than many other ancient cultures.
When I was young, I have eaten
- bats
- pigeons
- frog legs
- parts of the pig - brain, cheeks, innards like heart, lungs, intestines, blood.
- sheep tongue, bone marrows
- chicken and duck feet
Pigeons taste like chicken. Frog legs flesh are smooth and sweet. I remembered blood was congealed into cubes and served with other pig organs in a soup. Blood was bland. Chicken feet are a delicacy in China, Vietnam and Korea. It is a combination of skin (soft) and tendons ( crunchy). Chicken feet is commonly sold at Tim Sum outlets. Tim Sun is a type of Hong Kong food. And I like chicken feet. When I was in primary school, my mom cooked chicken feet before my physical fitness test. She said eating them helps me run faster. And I did believe this when I was young. I can't remember the taste of bats. For many years, Singapore had already prohibited animal blood food products as blood promotes the growth of bacteria and harbour diseases.
Pics of some Singapore food
Kashrut & Kosher
In the bible bat and blood were forbidden food
You may eat any clean bird. But these you may not eat the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. Deuteronomy 14:11-18
Jews had dietary laws given to them by God via Moses. The laws are called Kashrut and the food Kosher. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashrut
Main principles of Kashrut
· Certain animals may not be eaten at all, including pigs, shellfish, rabbits, and reptiles.
· Mammals that have split hooves and chew their cud, (including cows, sheep, goats, bison, and deer) are kosher.
· Fish must have fins and removable scales to be considered kosher.
· Specific kosher bird species are listed in the Torah, but there is more ambiguity about the requirements a bird must meet to be considered kosher. Generally speaking, birds of prey are not kosher.
· Milk and eggs from kosher animals are kosher
· Locust is the only insect which is considered kosher. Specific extracts in the Torah state that four types of desert locust - the red, the yellow, the spotted grey, and the white - can be eaten.
Kashrut also specify the preparation of the food
· Kosher mammals and birds must be slaughtered according to a process known as shechita; blood may never be consumed and must be removed from meat by process of salting and soaking in water for the meat to be permissible for use
· Meat and meat derivatives may never be mixed with milk and milk derivatives: separate equipment for the storage and preparation of meat-based and dairy-based foods must be used
There a few reasons why God introduce dietary laws for the Israelites
You may eat any clean bird. But these you may not eat the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. Deuteronomy 14:11-18d
Many non Kosher foods like bats, pigs & blood if not appropriately prepared, are a source of infection. Bats have been postulated to be a possible carrier of sars-cov 2 the virus for the covid virus. There was poor concept of what is and maitaining hygiene and its association with diseases in ancient times. It is possible the attention to cleanliness shielded the Jews from the black death. This social behaviour backfired resulting in increased ostracization and suspicion of the Jewish community
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Jews_during_the_Black_Death
Have the Chinese diet against the will of God? Have I sinned by eating Chinese food? I believe the answer is no. Kashrut laws and kosher food are specifically for the Jews. They are non-binding on the Gentiles. I think we should not be like Pharisees focusing on the detailed wording of the law while missing out the context and spiritual value why God issued the law.
In the bible bat and blood were forbidden food
You may eat any clean bird. But these you may not eat the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. Deuteronomy 14:11-18
Jews had dietary laws given to them by God via Moses. The laws are called Kashrut and the food Kosher. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashrut
Main principles of Kashrut
· Certain animals may not be eaten at all, including pigs, shellfish, rabbits, and reptiles.
· Mammals that have split hooves and chew their cud, (including cows, sheep, goats, bison, and deer) are kosher.
· Fish must have fins and removable scales to be considered kosher.
· Specific kosher bird species are listed in the Torah, but there is more ambiguity about the requirements a bird must meet to be considered kosher. Generally speaking, birds of prey are not kosher.
· Milk and eggs from kosher animals are kosher
· Locust is the only insect which is considered kosher. Specific extracts in the Torah state that four types of desert locust - the red, the yellow, the spotted grey, and the white - can be eaten.
Kashrut also specify the preparation of the food
· Kosher mammals and birds must be slaughtered according to a process known as shechita; blood may never be consumed and must be removed from meat by process of salting and soaking in water for the meat to be permissible for use
· Meat and meat derivatives may never be mixed with milk and milk derivatives: separate equipment for the storage and preparation of meat-based and dairy-based foods must be used
There a few reasons why God introduce dietary laws for the Israelites
- Most notably was so to create a separate identity for the Israelites. Having one God, a creator God, having laws focused on morality/sex/hygiene/food made the Israelites standout among the cultures of their generation and generations to come. These laws prevented socialization and intermarriage with non-Jews, preventing the Jewish identity from being diluted.
- Jewish scholars categorize laws into 3 types. First are laws that are rational and would be legislated by most societies. Second are laws that can be rationalized with an explanation but are not be universally accepted by non Jews. Third would be laws called Kashrut laws that cannot be easily rationalized. These laws demonstrate God's authority and man duty to observe them.
- Kashrut laws have some medical benefits.
You may eat any clean bird. But these you may not eat the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. Deuteronomy 14:11-18d
Many non Kosher foods like bats, pigs & blood if not appropriately prepared, are a source of infection. Bats have been postulated to be a possible carrier of sars-cov 2 the virus for the covid virus. There was poor concept of what is and maitaining hygiene and its association with diseases in ancient times. It is possible the attention to cleanliness shielded the Jews from the black death. This social behaviour backfired resulting in increased ostracization and suspicion of the Jewish community
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Jews_during_the_Black_Death
Have the Chinese diet against the will of God? Have I sinned by eating Chinese food? I believe the answer is no. Kashrut laws and kosher food are specifically for the Jews. They are non-binding on the Gentiles. I think we should not be like Pharisees focusing on the detailed wording of the law while missing out the context and spiritual value why God issued the law.
This article was published on 31 Dec 2020
by Benjamin Cheah
by Benjamin Cheah