> I've always imagined the taboo originated in some practical reasons (like "pork spoils really quickly in the heat"), but or course that's simplistic, and trying to approach religious things with reasoned explanations is a fool's errand.
This is actually the reason, though, you've just got the order wrong. People noticed that pigs sometimes gave people worms. They didn't know why, or under what conditions, but in order to keep tribe members safe, they developed rules against eating pigs. People would ignore it, so rather than saying "there's something invisible in pork that sometimes makes you sick" they just said "God said don't eat it." People listen to that more than other people.
This is actually the reason, though, you've just got the order wrong. People noticed that pigs sometimes gave people worms. They didn't know why, or under what conditions, but in order to keep tribe members safe, they developed rules against eating pigs. People would ignore it, so rather than saying "there's something invisible in pork that sometimes makes you sick" they just said "God said don't eat it." People listen to that more than other people.