In most parts of the world, pork is very popular. The only exceptions are the Jews and Muslims who do not eat pork.
For the sophisticated Romans, pork was the crown of an extended menu which contained oysters, lobster, fish, beef, birds, even mice. But pork was reserved for the main course. To be honest, the Romans had excellent pork, from free-ranging pigs who were eating acorns and chestnuts. Comparable to the black pigs of Corsica or Mangalica pigs.
Roman bronze sculpture
The first pigs that were eaten were wild boar.
Eventually, humans domesticated pigs. Pigs are excellent livestock. They eat everything, even waste, leftovers and rotten food. They do not require much space. They do not need extensive meadows like cattle. They behave well. They are even kind of nice and friendly. They grow fast. Their meat has a lot of fat, so it is tasty and has lots of energy. Pork can easily be preserved, just by salting, drying or smoking - think of ham and sausages.
In short, pork is the ideal meat - tasty, cheap, easy.
The question is rather, why do certain religious groups avoid pork?
Muslims are an easy case. They just took it from the Jews. And in the Quran, the ban of pork is rather weak.
But why do Jews avoid pork? Also very easy. The Jews came from the mountains where they raised sheep and goats. And sheeps and goats do not go well along with pigs, especially in arid conditions.
Pigs tend to make a mess of water sources, like springs, wells, pools or ponds. So, the old Jews banned pork.
EDIT:
Thank you all for your knowledgable comments.
However, be careful with saying “it is not true”.
First, the theory that Jews or Israelites banned pork because goats do not go well along with pigs is advocated by some of the most prominent archeologists: Finkelstein, Israel, Silberman, Neil A., Magall, Miriam. I find it much more convincing than any other explanation. Arguing with hygienics is a typical example of applying modern-day thinking to ancient cultures.
Second, I love Herodotos. But he was not always right, think of his story of gold-digging giant ants. Willem’s interpretation is very convincing: swineherds had a low social status in ancient Egypt because swines were smelly, but the fact that swineherds existed is proof enough that the Egyptians consumed pork. The goddess Nut was sometimes depicted as a sow suckling her piglets.
Third, the Muslim ban of pork is really weak. Surah 6:145 says: “Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I do not find in what has been revealed to me anything forbidden to eat except carrion, running blood, swine—which is impure—or a sinful offering in the name of any other than Allah. But if someone is compelled by necessity—neither driven by desire nor exceeding immediate need—then surely your Lord is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” The second sentence clearly allows to eat pork if nothing else is available. And think how such an exemption was interpreted in Mohammed’s times! In central Turkey and in many Arabian countries Muslims happily hunt and eat wild boar, saying “well, today, we have a wild boar and nothing else to eat - isn’t the Lord All-Forgiving, Most Merciful?”. As far as I have observed, the radical ban of pork came into existence just with the Iranian revolution in 1979. Only since then, Muslims have become obsessed with avoiding pork. Before then, most of the Muslims were pretty liberal about it.
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