The food a person eats is transformed into his flesh and blood. As such, one of the reasons the Torah prohibits eating certain foods is so that the characteristics of the forbidden animal that are not desirable do not become incorporated into the person’s body and character.
On this basis, it is possible to understand that this applies also regarding the signs that designate kosher and non-kosher status. The prohibition against eating animals that do not chew their cud and have split hooves exists so that the undesirable traits and characteristics identified with these animals should not be transferred to the person partaking of them. The implication is that a person’s conduct should exemplify the qualities of having split hooves and chewing cud.
