Hindus do not eat eggs, fish, meat, or poultry, but do eat dairy. For this, they are considered lacto-vegetarians. Brahmins, a class of Hinduism, have special restrictions on who and how their food is prepared and stored.
The Jain religion is believed to be one of the most ancient religions in the world and is often associated with Hinduism or seen as a branch of Hinduism. However, Jainism is very much a religion in its own right and its followers have to keep a strict code of conduct especially when it comes to diet.
Hindus don't eat beef. They worship the animals. The Muslims don't eat pork. The Buddhists are vegetarians and the Jains are strict vegans who won't even touch root vegetables because of the damage it does to the plants.
Food taboos usually seem to be intended to protect the human individual from harm, spiritually or physically, but there are numerous other reasons given within cultures for their existence. An ecological or medical background is apparent in many, including some that are seen as religious or spiritual in origin.
There are not set dietary laws in Buddhism, customs vary with region. Vegetarian is common due to the principle of nonviolence and the avoidance of suffering. Theravada and Mahayana: often do not eat meat and fish, some are vegan.
Forbidden food substances include alcohol, pork, carrion, the meat of carnivores and animals that died due to illness, injury, stunning, poisoning, or slaughtering not in the name of God.
The only dietary restrictions specified for Christians in the New Testament are to "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals" (Acts 15:29), teachings that the early Church Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen, preached for believers to follow.
Jainism. Jainism practices non-violence and has strict rules for the protection of all life. For this reason, they do not eat eggs, fish, meat or poultry.
Some Hindus do not eat ghee, milk, onions, eggs, coconut, garlic, domestic fowl or salted pork. Alcohol is generally avoided.
However, Catholics do not eat chocolate during the month of lent. Chocolate is among the foods that Catholics avoid during the month of Lent in order to unite themselves more closely to Jesus in the desert.
One of the most distinctive food practices in both Judaism and Islam is the avoidance of pork products. In Judaism, the prohibition has been a way of showing Jewish identity and of challenging it.
Those following a Zen Buddhist diet or shojin ryori abstain from consuming meat as well as other strong flavors such as garlic and onion. Consuming these foods is thought to cloud the ability to effectively meditate.
Also, on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all Fridays during Lent, adult Catholics over the age of 14 abstain from eating meat. During these days, it is not acceptable to eat lamb, chicken, beef, pork, ham, deer and most other meats. However, eggs, milk, fish, grains, and fruits and vegetables are all allowed.
All of India's most widely practiced religions have dietary laws and traditions. For example, Hindu texts often praise vegetarianism, and Hindus may also avoid eating beef because cows are traditionally viewed as sacred. Muslim teachings, meanwhile, prohibit pork.
Kashrut—Jewish dietary laws
Certain foods, notably pork, shellfish and almost all insects are forbidden; meat and dairy may not be combined and meat must be ritually slaughtered and salted to remove all traces of blood. Observant Jews will eat only meat or poultry that is certified kosher.
By Islamic law, all foods are considered halal, or lawful, except for pork and its by-products, animals improperly slaughtered or dead before slaughtering, animals slaughtered in the name of anyone but Allah (God), carnivorous animals, birds of prey, animals without external ears (some birds and reptiles), blood, ...
Many dietary regulations borrow heavily from Mosaic Law in forbidding consumption of the blood of any animal, the flesh of swine or of animals that are found dead, animals killed by means other than exsanguination, and food that has been offered or sacrificed to idols.
Buddhism generally forbids the consumption of any kind of meat since it breaches both the Fifth Moral Precept and the First Moral Precept when animals are killed for food.
Buddhism, the Thai state religion, teaches that use of intoxicants should be avoided.
In general, Buddhism prohibits the eating of any and all meat, because (1) the killing of animals violates the First Moral Precept and (2) meat is considered an intoxicant to the body, which violates the Fifth Moral Precept.
While of course opinions vary and the elite in many Muslim countries keep dogs as status symbols, the majority of Muslims see dogs as dirty, impure, sometimes even evil.
Foods like jellybeans, marshmallows, and other gelatin-based foods also typically contain pork byproducts and are not considered Halal. Even products like vanilla extract and toothpaste can contain alcohol! Muslims will generally not eat meat that has also come in contact with pork.
Unlike many other forms of livestock, pigs are omnivorous scavengers, eating virtually anything they come across, including carrion and refuse, which was deemed unclean. Furthermore, a Middle Eastern society keeping large stocks of pigs could destroy their ecosystem.