20 Cause and Effect Essay Topics: How to Write about the Pork in the Middle East?

Writing a cause and effect essay is a great opportunity to explore both causes and effects of specific things in the world. When writing about pork in the Middle East, it is particularly interesting to explore what caused people historically to avoid eating pork and what causes people today in modern societies to avoid it too. Equally interesting is exploring the impact that abstaining from pork has had on many societies, particularly in terms of their economy and their health care systems. There are many different beliefs pertaining to pork in the Middle East due to the fact that there are so many religions in the same geographic region. What these religions all seem to have in common, however, is the fact that they tend to avoid pork and pork product. In some countries visitors cannot find pork on the menu or in stores while in other countries the other believers will abstain from pork but still sell it to tourists.  There are historical reasons why people change from the consumption of pork to the consumption of chickens but the taboo of pork consumption can be traced back to the explosion of certain religions in the Middle East. In any case, below are 20 topics you might use:

1. The Economic Impact of Pork Avoidance: How Pigs are no Longer Farmed
2. The Impact Religious Rules Have on Farming Practices: Why There Are No Pig Farms in the Middle East
3. The Impact Religious Rules has on Sales: Why Buying Pork in Muslim Countries is Prohibited
4. International Relations: Why Tourists Can Buy Pork in Israeli Cities
5. Health Benefits Associated with Abstaining from Pork
6. The Origins of the Taboo against Eating Pork
7. Jewish Origins against Pork Consumption
8. Muslim Origins against Pork Consumption
9. Nomadic Tribes and Their Turn against Pork: Why Traveling with Chickens Is Easier
10. Religion’s Influence on Dietary Consumptions: How Faith Dictates Eating Habits
11. Tracing the Religious Impact on Food: Pork in the Middle East
12. The Effects of Eating Tainted Pork
13. The Causes of Trichinosis
14. The Effects of Dietary Changes in Religion
15. The Effects of Modern Exchanges on Religious Beliefs: How Travel can Influence Change
16. Historic Causes behind Pork Consumption in the Middle East
17. How New Animals Caused Pork Consumption to Drop in the Middle East
18. The Effects of Chicken Protein versus Pork Protein: Understanding Pork in the Middle East
19. The Effects of Religious Restrictions on Travel: Why People Avoid the Middle East
20. The Effects of Religious Texts on Modern Habits: Avoiding Pork in the Middle East

Below you can see an example cause and effect essay on one of the topics from that list, giving you a better idea of what your paper writing should look like in terms of structure.

Cause and Effect Essay Sample: The Origins of the Taboo against Eating Pork

Today in the Middle East you will find many things on the menu but pork is not likely to be one of them. Both Judaism and Islam restrict pork consumption and the consumption of any pork products. It is for this reason that finding pork related items on your menu will be quite difficult.  For both Judaism and Islam the origins related to the taboo of pork consumption can be traced to the respective holy books used by both religions.  Most interestingly enough is that both of these religions, though considered enemies with conflicting beliefs, have religious laws which explicitly say not to touch dead pigs and not to eat pig meat.

For Muslims, the abstinence from pork relates back to the Quran.  In Chapter 2 of the Quran the Muslim God prohibits the consumption of pork. The Quran is the holy book referred to when searching for guidance on behavior.  The guidance pertaining to what foods can and cannot be consumed states that individuals should not touch the dead meat or blood of pigs nor should they consume the flesh of pigs.  Also in the Quran has verses which describe pig as unclean and impure. The description of something as unclean or impure brings with it the implicit understanding that it should not be consumed or touched. It is expressly stated that the consumption of pig in any form is forbidden. Only in life-or-death situation is this allowed.

The Jewish faith refers to the Torah as their holy book. In this book the Jewish god dictates what foods are forbidden to eat.  Foods which are not kosher cannot be consumed by Believers. Kosher foods are defined by foods which have been prepared based upon Jewish practice and blessed by a Jewish leader. It is in the book of Deuteronomy in chapter 14 that the Jewish god specifically states that pigs are unclean and that all the world should not touch the dead body of a pig nor should they eat the flesh of the pig.  This taboo on the consumption of pork remains a popular religious belief today, wherein dietary restrictions remain in place with regard to pork and pork products.

What is perhaps most interesting about the taboo, though quite old in its origins, is something which today remains quite relevant. Pork today is something which is considered dirty because of the things a pig might eat (garbage, dead or decaying remains) and the rolling in the mud pigs quite often do. In both situations the pig is open to harmful bacteria which can cause serious damage to a human if consumed. The most dangerous aspect to this is that even if the pork is prepared properly, it can still bring be a host of health problems. The most serious of these is trichinosis, wherein worms get inside the pig and then transfer to those who eat the pig. It is for this reason that people of both faiths will continue to support the avoidance of pork entirely, as abstinence from the pork is the only way to really avoid such health concerns not associated with other animals or their consumption.

References:
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Khan, Muhammad Moinuddin. Business And Trade In Islam. New Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2009. Print.
Maqsood, Ruqaiyyah Waris. What Every Christian Should Know About Islam. New York: Kube Pub., 2009. Print.
Rizvi, Sayyid Saeed Akhtar and Tanzim Raza Qureshi. Divine Command And Pork. New Delhi, India: Islamic Wonders Bureau, 2007. Print.
Rubin, Barry M. The Middle East. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2011. Print.
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