Re: The obsession with pork...
Cheegum is right on! Even if you like pork, there are many other meats to eat so its very easy to stay away from it.
I hope I dont ruin anyone's taste for meat but pigs arent the only excreta-eating animals - cows, chickens, sheep - they all do. I've seen it with me own eyes (I love farms and animals).
As far as the personality of the pig - I never knew that only animals with "good" personalities were considered halaal ;) And actually, if you happen to visit a farm with pigs, they're kinda cute, they're very good to their babies and they purportedly make wonderful house pets!
Pigs used to be (I think) the only carriers of trichinosis, a parasite that can be transmitted to humans and cause horrible sickness or death. But with the advent of antibiotics it has been virtually wiped out.
I dont know ... I'm a gori, was raised here in usa and pork was always an acceptable thing to eat. I dont have a problem giving it up, there is plenty of other meat that I love to eat but I dont have that strong disgust for it that many desis do.