Before any law, before any nation, Scripture tells us what God gave mankind to eat — twice, in two different worlds.
In the garden
Biblical permission- Genesis 1:29 names seed-bearing plants and fruit trees as food for mankind.
- It is a description of God's gift in that world, not a later command.
After the flood
Biblical permission- Genesis 9:3 explicitly widens the permission to animal food.
- Genesis 9:4 attaches one restriction: not the blood.
What people often add
Interpretation- "God's original diet is the ideal diet" — that is an inference, not a statement of the text.
- "Meat was a concession because people were sinful" — also an inference. Genesis 9 gives the permission without that explanation.
- Christians hold both views. Keep the labels honest.
What Scripture says
- Plants were given as food; after the flood animal food was permitted; blood was excluded.
What Scripture does NOT say
- Genesis does not command a vegetarian diet, and it does not require eating meat either.
Questions to reflect on
- Do I hold my convictions about meat as command, or as conviction?
Reflection journal
Do I hold my convictions about meat as command, or as conviction?
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