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Summary
- Jehovah’s Witnesses do eat pork, because they believe the clean and unclean food laws of Moses ended with the death of Christ (Colossians 2:14, 16; Acts 10).
- The Law made the pig unclean for Israel because it has a split hoof but does not chew the cud (Leviticus 11:7; Deuteronomy 14:8).
- What Witnesses will not eat is blood, following Genesis 9:4 and Acts 15:28–29: no blood sausage, no meat from animals that were not bled, and no food with blood added.
- Their publications say bled meat need not be free of every trace of blood, and they advise asking the seller when it is unclear whether meat was bled or a product contains blood.
- Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches allow pork too; the Council of Florence (1442) said the ban on blood had lapsed, while the Eastern Orthodox still recognize it.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (2013 revision), Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society: Genesis 9:3–4; Leviticus 11:3, 7; 17:13; Deuteronomy 14:8; Mark 7:19; Acts 10:15; 15:29; Romans 14:14, 23; Colossians 2:14, 16. https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/nwt/books/
- “Food,” Insight on the Scriptures, vol. 1, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001541
- “Swine,” Insight on the Scriptures, vol. 2, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200004276
- “Questions From Readers” (Mark 7:19), The Watchtower, July 1, 1978, p. 31. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1978490
- “Questions From Readers” (red fluid in meat), The Watchtower, September 1, 1972, p. 544. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1972650
- “Questions From Readers” (buying bled meat; 1 Corinthians 10:25; fish and insects), The Watchtower, November 1, 1961, pp. 669–672. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1961808
- “Questions From Readers” (blood as fertilizer or animal food), The Watchtower, October 15, 1981, pp. 30–31. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1981770
- “Is It Wrong to Eat Meat?” Awake!, August 8, 1997. https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/101997568
- “God’s View of Blood,” lesson 39, Enjoy Life Forever! (2021). https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/enjoy-life-forever/section-3/lesson-39/
- “How Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Show Respect for Life?” (reflecting the 2026 Governing Body Update #6), jw.org. https://www.jw.org/en/library/series/more-topics/jehovahs-witnesses-view-blood/
- Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence, Session 11 (February 4, 1442), Bull of union with the Copts. https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum17.htm
- Council in Trullo (692), canon 67, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 14. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3814.htm
- “Christian dietary laws,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_dietary_laws
- “Council of Jerusalem,” Wikipedia (on the later history of the apostolic decree). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Jerusalem
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