As Creator, God has provided not only plants but also animals to be food for mankind. However, God did not create all animal flesh to be eaten by human beings. Because God desires mankind to sustain good health, He has revealed to mankind which animal flesh He specifically created to be eaten. This knowledge was made known from creation, as shown in the account of Noah and the Flood.

In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, God clearly specifies which meats are fit for human consumption and which are not. The classification of clean or unclean is easily identifiable by the characteristics that God created in the animals. Any warm-blooded mammal which has split hooves and which chews the cud is clean to eat. All other warm-blooded animals are unclean. Of the creatures that live in the waters, only the fish with fins and scales are clean to eat; all others are unclean. Of the fowls, God forbids eating the flesh of fowls which are scavengers. All reptiles are unclean, as are all insects except locusts, grasshoppers and certain beetles.

Contrary to the belief of many professing Christians, the New Testament does not nullify God's laws of clean and unclean meats. The dispute between Jesus Christ and the Pharisees in Mark 7 did not involve the eating of clean or unclean meats. Rather, it concerned His disciples' eating food with unwashed hands. As clearly interpreted in Acts 10, the vision that Peter saw was given to reveal that no human is to be called "common or unclean" and is not a divine authorization to change God's laws of clean and unclean meats.     

The apostle Paul upheld the laws of clean and unclean meats as a requirement for Christians. He described the meats that Christians are permitted to eat as those "meats which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe [have faith in] and know the truth [the Word of God is Truth--John 17:17]" (I Tim. 4:3). Paul was clearly showing that some meats were created to be eaten and others were not created to be eaten. Paul continued, "For every creature of God [which was created to be eaten] is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified [set apart] by the Word of God [as revealed in the Scriptures] and prayer" (verse 4).

Your body will tell you when you have eaten food that is not fit for the body or you have eaten food that has been exposed to filth spread by unsanitary conditions.  These unsanitary conditions can be exposure of food to insects and rodents that carry filth and disease.  To see an article of contaminated food click here. 

Most sickness that you feel in the form of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, dizziness, and headache is from eating meat that was not designed for the body.  The most common foods that are not fit for the body but yet are found on buffets and menus around the world include (but are not limited to) pork (bacon, ham, pepperoni, etc.), shrimp, crab legs, lobster, clams, oysters, catfish and other meats not listed here, but are listed in scripture.  (See scriptural Reference above and below).  Though a meat item may say beef, turkey, chicken on the package you must watch out for other ingredients  and body parts that are added or used to make the product.  Casings such as collagen may be made of pork instead of beef or lamb.  Many meats are being injected with juices derived from pork, clams or items that are not made for man to consume.

Many foods are now being flavored with flavor enhancers such as monosodium glutamate that causes headaches and other sickness that closely resembles the effects of eating an unclean meat.  You will find these flavor enhancers in most chips, dips, soups, prepared foods and in most fast food restaurants.  Read the label and ask questions at food establishments before you eat them to avoid the sickness associated with these flavor enhancers.

Other  signs and symptoms of sickness caused from specific bacteria may include: weakness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, double vision, paralyzed eye nerves, difficulty speaking, trouble swallowing, paralysis that spreads downward, respiratory failure, and death may be caused from contamination of food with such things as  botulism, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., and Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni), Escherichia coli (E. coli). 

More information will be forthcoming on both clean and unclean foods in addition to food contamination caused by insects, rodents and food adulteration.  If you would like to be notified when we have updated this page and added more information just click on the following e-mail and send  mail@cognm.org

A booklet written to further document the effects of eating unclean and contaminated food with a list of meats that are classified as biblically clean may be found at:   CBCG.org.

Scriptural References:

Lev. 11:1-31

Deut. 14:3-20

Mark 7:1-16

Acts 10:1-28

I Tim. 4:3-5

Isa. 66:17

Gen. 7:2; 8:20

To hear a sermon on this subject click on the following link:  Clean and Unclean Meats