God gave the Israelites guidelines for what they should eat. This article is an overview of the clean animals that are discussed in the book of Leviticus.

Hooved Animals
And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying unto them, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatsoever parteth the hoof and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that shall ye eat (Leviticus 11:1-3).

According to Leviticus 11, all clean animals are cud-chewers—cows, goats, deer, and other game. They all have a pre-stomach, or rumen, in which the food is pre-digested. The bacteria in the rumen is able to convert all the material into digestible matter. Only after this food has been thoroughly digested does it enter the real stomach.

Also, clean animals are all herbivores. They are, therefore, eaters of "primary" material.

Fowl
Birds that have a crop are also clean, since their food is well-digested and does not ferment.

The chicken is listed as clean since it originally ate only seeds. Today, however, the average commercially reared chicken is fed on fishmeal or carcass meal (reject material from the abattoir), and can no longer be regarded as acceptable.

Marine Animals
These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat (Leviticus 11:9).

Only fish with fins and scales are edible. These fish are generally found in deep or fast-running waters, and are mainly algal eaters. They also have an excellent detoxifying enzyme system.

Insects
Leviticus 11 makes it clear that of all insects, only the locust and flying grasshopper are for eating.

The next article will discuss the animals that God did not want His people to eat.