For this essay I read articles related to religious food taboos, food on holidays and fasts, and an interview promoting religious pluralism. An article from eNotes.com explains why some foods may be taboo, such as unfavorable geographical conditions and social differences, among others. I feel like this will help explain why some foods are sacred while others are forbidden. Another article on the same site discusses food in religious celebration and observation; feasting and fasting. eNotes advertises itself as a resource used daily by researchers, teachers, and students; although it contains a lot of good information, I realize the need to dig even deeper. I read an interview on Dowser, a social innovation news site, with Eboo Patel by Rebecca Robinson in which Patel discusses promoting religious plurality in America. Patel, who grew up Muslim in the United States, is familiar with faith-based tensions. In 1998 he founded the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) to promote religious pluralism. In 2009, he was one of 25 advisors selected for President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, as well as being named one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report. Dowser's motto is "Who solves what and how?" (Dowser) In the first article "Taboos" I learned how and why some foods are considered religiously forbidden. The article further explains that many of the reasons behind such taboos boil down to people's emotional relationships with certain animals and the way in which some foods are considered unfit for consumption because they are unknown to a culture and the way in which some foods, although not generally permitted, they are consumed by those who migrate to other areas. For example, the Muslim religion... in the center of the card...; I have a plethora of useful, but ultimately useless, information for the purposes of this article. I feel like if I narrow it down further and focus on two religions, Christianity/Catholic and Islam/Muslim, and compare them in as many ways as possible without drifting towards either extreme. My ultimate goal is to provide an article that develops a yin-yang philosophy; celebrate similarities and recognize and respect differences. Works Cited Robinson, Rebecca. Interview with Eboo Patel, on promoting religious plurality in America. Diviner, 14 February 2011. Web. 23 July 2011."Holidays, festivals and fasts." Encyclopedia of food and culture. Ed. Solomon H. Katz. Vol.1. Gale Cengage, 2003. eNotes.com. 2006. Network. 21 July 2011"Taboo." Encyclopedia of food and culture. Ed. Solomon H. Katz. vol. 3. Gale Cengage, 2003. eNotes.com. 2006. Web 21 July, 2011