Muslims and Jews don't just refrain from eating pork but the meat they eat has to be specially prepared.

Maybe it is a slap at China since one of the largest pork meat producers in the U.S. Smithfield is owned by Chinese interest-or so I heard.

It's pretty simple, if you have 10% (or more) who object to something, it is simpler to get rid of it rather than making two sets of meals or something. I heard that we always had fish for lunch on Friday because of Catholics.

I have to wonder about Muslims in prison though. Apparently eating pork is against their scruples, but the crime they did to get there was not?

"Righteousness does not consist in whether you face towards the East or the West. The righteous man is he who believes in God and the Last Day, in the angels and the Book and the prophets; who, though he loves it dearly, gives away his wealth to kinsfolk, to orphans, to the helpless, to the traveller in need, and to beggars, and for the redemption of captives,; who attends to his prayers and renders the alms levy; who is true to his promises and steadfast in trial and adversity and in times of war. Such are the true believers; such are the God fearing." Koran 2: 176

Would seem to put dietary laws in that area of trivial things, but probably there are other verses about pig meat.

I don't believe it.

When so many in this nation go without on a daily basis.

It also apparently got more expensive for the government to buy, although he did not provide specifics." The government says it was not driven by Islamic or Jewish dietary preferences, which were already being met."

That's from the Washington Post, link below, and:
...

"The Bureau of Prisons, which is responsible for running 122 federal penitentiaries and feeding their inmates three meals a day, said the decision was based on a survey of prisoners’ food preferences:

They just don’t like the taste of pork. “Why keep pushing food that people don’t want to eat?” asked Edmond Ross, a spokesman for the prison bureau. It also apparently got more expensive for the government to buy, although he did not provide specifics."

The pork industry is up in arms, among other things using Islamophobia to stir up support among the ignorant.

BTW, on searching for stats on # of Muslims in American prisons, I didn't find a number, but I did come across an amazing amount of Islamophobic hatemongering and fearmongering. In light of that, it's worth mentioning here that Muslims are 0.8% of all Americans and that approximately 75% of new converts to Islam fall away within a few years. Also, studies show that the loudly trumpeted menace of radicalization in prison is mostly just right-wing paranoia.

[link:https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/10/09/finally-the-government-has-decided-to-eliminate-pork-from-the-menu-in-federal-prisons/||

fowl as in chicken?

My wife and a few relatives are 100% vegetarian, but I'm not so fussy.

We have dogs and wouldn't demand a vegetarian diet for them.

When I was a kid, our family's primary source of animal protein was fish my dad caught and many animals I'd seen alive.

I'm fairly okay with a rice and beans diet these days.

There must be more behind this decision. I do not believe that inmates were voting against pork, unless it has something to do with the quality of the meat, or the way it is prepared. I am sure that prisons do not get the best cuts and professional chefs. Besides, it would not surprise me if this order is reversed by the next administration, be it Democratic or Republican. Anyway, more bacon for me.