See the Q&A Series here
Q: What do you mean by ‘the original Bible diet?’ I have no clue what it is, but I hope it’s tasty! ;o)
A: Hello and thanks for your question.
The original, God-ordained diet for humans and animals alike is stated here:
And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. (Genesis 1:29-30)
Thus, I understand all pre-flood humans and animals were herbivores. I presume the diets were indeed tasty considering how pristine Earth and the climate were back then, compared to how acidic and polluted they are in our day.
For some strategic reason(s), after the global flood God purposely modified the diet for mankind to include meat, animal flesh:
So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. (verse 3) I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. (Genesis 9:1-4)
The following posts discuss and speculate on plausible links between the above verses and Genesis 6:1-8, in which God seemingly decrees a significant reduction in human life span from nearly a thousand years (Methuselah and Adam lived to 969 and 930 years, respectively!), to ~120 years. Some Bible scholars interpret the reference to 120 years as the time that remained before God would flood Earth. He is not a God of confusion. Examining the considerable, subsequent declines in post-flood life span leads me to believe the change in diet may have been a primary contributor. As noted in the below posts, there may be other reasons for the post-flood diet change. We also know many animals also became full carnivores, and others, like mankind, became omnivores.
What I find keenly interesting is how God twice predicts lions will once again eat straw and seemingly that humans may once again live long lives:
The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. (Isaiah 11:7)
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the Lord. (Isaiah 65:25)
No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old, but the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. (Isaiah 65:20)
When comparing and contrasting Genesis 9:30 with Isaiah 11:7 and 65:25, do you perceive an inference that the changes in diet may apply to both humans and animals, as did Genesis 1:29-30??
Other readers may add their comments.
