Avoid eating impure animals?

[Noahide Q]

For example, if a Gentile needs to skip the opportunity to eat pork because it gives him a reaction of disgust, for whatever reason, that is permitted (and he should not expect or seek any reward from G-d because he didn't eat pork). Thus in his own mind, he leaves open the possibility that there may be a time in the future when he won't anymore be disgusted by it, in which case he then wouldn't mind eating it.
But if he has resolved not to eat it as a matter of spiritual conviction, he is transgressing by creating for himself a new ritual commandment that is not from G-d.

Thank you for the detailed explanation. I understand that a key point is that the Gentile should not expect, or seek, any reward because they did not eat due to this type of disgust. Moreover, a Gentile would actually be misguided to feel disgust towards eating non-kosher just because of the existence of the mitzvah that only applies to Jews. It is hard to see how that would not actually in effect be creating a spiritual conviction for oneself (even when acknowledging the food is not forbidden on the theoretical level) when Kosher is in the realm of the supra-natural related to the spiritual effect on Jewish souls only.

It seems that the Gentile should try to correct/eliminate any sense of disgust based on the mitzvah for Jews. I find it interesting that for many people, the non-kosher foods of shell-fish and pork belly, bacon etc. are considered the most flavoursome delicacies. If one is able to find such pleasure in these foods then that is a blessing that Hashem would expect the Gentile acknowledge and give thanks to Him, without a guilty conscience?

Yes, that is scientifically misguided. "Kosher" does not mean healthy, and "Non-Kosher" does not mean unhealthy. Many things that are kosher are not healthy, and many things that are non-kosher are healthy. A Gentile should judge the healthiness of all foods, kosher or non-kosher, by the same standard. For example, it may be that both kosher and non-kosher sea creatures from one ocean suffer from contamination, and the same kosher and non-kosher species from another ocean do not have any contamination.

Rejecting pork (a non-kosher species) on account of the remote possibility of trichinosis is hard to justify if the person eats chicken (a kosher species) which has a comparatively higher risk of salmonella.

Thanks for the clarity on this. Those are really great examples. I understand then that there has to be a total de-linkage between the concepts of 'kosher' and 'health'. It is possible I guess that some Jews have tried to market the 'health' benefits of keeping kosher to encourage other Jews to start/maintain kosher observance to achieve the desired result of the positive effect on the Jewish soul? Some Gentiles may have therefore been confused into seeing a justification to keep kosher on some level due to perceived health benefits. But I see now that the Gentile should judge the healthiness of all foods, kosher or non-kosher, with the same scientific objectivity 'Scientific objectivity is a characteristic of scientific claims, methods and results. It expresses the idea that the claims, methods and results of science are not, or should not be influenced by particular perspectives, value commitments, community bias or personal interests, to name a few relevant factors. Objectivity is often considered as an ideal for scientific inquiry, as a good reason for valuing scientific knowledge, and as the basis of the authority of science in society .

The obvious appearance of hypocrisy is probably an indication that the Gentile is overly scrutinizing a non-kosher species with the objective of covering over his underlying motivation, which is to take upon himself the Jewish ritual commandment (in whole or in part).

As you have explained it this topic is a great example of the importance of proper intentions/motivations for Noahides. I think it is beneficial to bring out some of the internal deliberations a Noahide may have on this.

Thanks again
Neil
Brisbane, Australia