When you’re on a college campus, you’re bound to meet various types of people. Some people may be tall, while others may talk a lot. Their personalities and mannerisms could be similar or could be different from yours. You will also come across people who have various eating habits. While you may be familiar with some of these diets, every once in a while, you’ll come across a diet that you aren’t familiar with.

Common diets that people aren’t often familiar with are diets that come from a religion such as kosher and halal. According to a census by the Public Religion Research Institute, around 3.5% of Americans identify with a religion that has some sort of dietary restriction, but how many people actually know what types of foods that they can or can’t eat? It’s important to understand these dietary restrictions so that we can be more inclusive of the new friends and people that we meet around campus. Some colleges, like the University of California – Los-Angeles and University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign, have taken steps to accommodate students who have kosher or halal diets by having stations designated to them in some of their dining halls. However, some campuses may not have those designated areas or the events and activities that are hosted don’t have any food that they can eat, which may make it difficult for individuals who participate in religious diets to feel included. But there are steps we can take to be inclusive of people who participate in religious diets.

Religious Dietary Restrictions

Before we get into finding ways to be inclusive of religious dietary restrictions, it is important to know about where these religious diets come from. In a 2020 census performed by the Public Religion Research Institute, out of the Americans who identify with a religion that has dietary restrictions, two of the largest groups are the Jewish and Muslim religions which each have about 1% of Americans identifying as one. Since these two are the most commonly known religions with dietary restrictions, we’ll learn where they come from and what makes them similar and different.

The Kosher Diet

An important part of Jewish religion, Judaism, is keeping kosher. You might have seen or heard of this term when shopping for food at the grocery store as a lot of products that you might regularly buy, like Oreos, are labelled kosher with special symbols. Dr. Shelley Birdsong, an associate professor of religious studies at North Central College, states that “According to biblical text, keeping kosher is a way of showing their religious devotion and to separate themselves as holy.” The Jewish consider this a sacred and vital part of their religion and because of that, they take care to make sure they follow it.

The kosher diet is guided by the kashrut which are the rules for what foods can be eaten and how they should be prepared. These rules come from the torah, the first five books of the Bible. Some rules you might see in the kashrut include that dairy and meat can’t be eaten together and that the meat must be butchered in accordance with Jewish law. Although you might expect everyone who eats kosher to have the same exact set of eating restrictions, that is not the case. The guidelines of the kashrut can change depending on the person and what they believe is the correct way to participate in eating kosher. The most common difference in food law views is that Orthodox Jews believe that all rules in the kashrut must be followed while Reform Jews may be more lenient on following the kashrut as they believe it is a personal choice. Below is a small list that has what is considered treif, or not kosher, to most in Judaism.

Restricted Foods When Eating Kosher (Treif)

• Mammals that don’t chew cud and have split hooves (e.g., pigs, camels, and rabbits)

• Fish without fins and scales (e.g., shellfish, catfish, and squid)

• Poultry that isn’t chicken, turkey, duck, and goose

In addition to the guidelines laid out by the kashrut, there are also certain times in Judaism where eating habits change in accordance with their holy days. One example of this would be the Shabbat, which is held on Saturdays, as they can’t cook food from a raw state since it would violate the kashrut. Another would be Passover. On this holiday, they must refrain from eating any food that is leavened, like bread, with some Jews refraining from eating any grain product, like oatmeal, pasta, and most liquors. This holiday celebrates the Israelites leaving Egypt in Exodus and is seen as a celebration of freedom to them. There is also one holiday every year where the Jewish fast for 25 hours in introspection and repentance. This holiday is the most important to the Jews and is known as Yom Kippur. On that holiday, you will most likely not see your Jewish friends as they will be most likely be participating in the religious services.

The Halal Diet

The Islamic religion is where the halal diet comes from. The halal diet has become more known in recent years as according to the Halal Food Standards Alliance of America, Islam is the 2nd largest religion with over 1.8 billion followers. Just like the eating kosher, eating halal is a way for Muslims to show their religious devotion to Allah, who is their god.

The halal dietary guideline comes from the sharia which are Islamic laws that come the Qur’an and the Hadith. In terms of food restrictions, halal has less restrictions than the kosher diet, but just like the kosher diet, it can vary a bit from person to person. Shaykh Rizwan Ali from the Islamic Center of Naperville describes the two different aspects of halal saying that, “One aspect is halal where they will eat anything as long as it isn’t any type of pig, and the other aspect is zabiha halal where they also require any meat to be slaughtered according to Islamic law.” Unlike kosher guidelines, there is not as many food restrictions, but if one chooses to follow the guidelines for zabiha halal it may be a little more difficult to accommodate in terms of meat. Below you will see a list of haram or restricted foods while eating halal.

Restricted Foods When Eating Halal (Haram)

Just like in Judaism, there is a time when eating habits change in the Islamic religion. This time is known as Ramadan. You might have heard of it from some your friends or someone else that you know, but you may not exactly know what it is or why it happens. Ramadan occurs on the ninth month of the lunar calendar, and during this time, a fast takes place from sunrise to sunset for 30 days. It is the most sacred month in Islamic culture, and the fast is done to grow spiritually closer to Allah and their loved ones.

Ramadan is not the only time when fasting is done. “Mondays and Thursdays are recommended to fast, but they aren’t obligatory,” says Shaykh Rizwan. During their personal fast, there are times where they may break their fast during the day, but these times differ from person to person as it is up to their own personal discretion. However, it is important to note that not all people in the Islamic religion fast that often as it is often up to the person’s personal choice, but it is important to keep in mind in case they decline food because they are fasting.