I would be a good example of someone whose food choice is explicitly affected by social norms. Islam does not permit consuming pork at all. Also, I was born in Pakistan, which is a Muslim country. Therefore, pork is not sold there and everyone supplies and demands halal (kosher) meat. As a Muslim, I have never eaten pig products, and I also only eat kosher meat. Kosher involves being careful about resource inputs, which would be the food for the cows, goats, chicken; for example, it’s not permissible to feed them chemicals and hormones for economic purposes. They should be treated well without any abuse. In addition, drinking is prohibited in my religion. Since in Pakistan, only halal food is served, no food products can have wine or any other hard drinks. This is an example of social norms affecting my- and millions of other Muslims’- food choice.

Speciesism is a major issue in the economy, as people have tried to lower their costs and maximize their profits when it comes to agriculture and food supply. As I mentioned before, Muslims are required to not only treat their animals with respect, but also only eat food that comes from well-treated, non-abused animals. By providing chemicals and hormones to animals, they are able to maximize the amount of meat that can be sold for a cheaper price. The animals become fatter, cows provide more milk, and chickens provide more eggs, and so on. Unfortunately, this is a not a natural process, which is unethical as well as harmful for the animals. People have boycotted the mistreatment of animals, and some have even became vegetarian or vegan for that exact purpose. An issue is the reliability of Muslim meat providers, and assuring that they follow the ethical practices.