The biblical narrative offers profound insights into humanity’s relationship with food and life itself. Genesis 1:29 presents our original dietary instruction: “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” Only after the Great Flood, recorded in Genesis 9:3, was humanity permitted to consume animals: “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.”
This spiritual tradition finds remarkable support in both historical and scientific records. While our bodies can process both plant and animal matter, our natural abundance of fruits and vegetables originally made animal consumption unnecessary. The Great Flood narrative, shared across hundreds of cultures worldwide, likely reflects post-ice age humanity’s struggles with food scarcity. When faced with survival scenarios – like being stranded on a deserted island – humans naturally adapt to available resources.
The oral tradition records that Noah lived 950 years, with six ancestors surpassing 900 years, before lifespans dramatically decreased. Jethro Kloss, in his revolutionary work “Back to Eden,” suggests this decline directly relates to the introduction of animal consumption. Published in 1939, his book arrived at a crucial moment in medical history, as pharmaceutical companies and surgical approaches began displacing traditional healing methods.
The Hidden History of Natural Healing and Colonial Influence
The 1910 Flexner Report dealt a devastating blow to many medical institutions practicing herbal medicine, homeopathy, and naturopathy. This coincided with John D. Rockefeller’s development of petroleum-based pharmaceuticals and his strategic funding of institutions following his foundation’s standardized model. This transformation demonstrates capitalism’s double-edged power to reshape society.
My eight-year apprenticeship under an indigenous Shaman revealed extraordinary healing possibilities through plant-based approaches. I witnessed terminal pancreatic cancer reversed in just 30 days through raw foods, herbs, and natural supplementation. This wisdom echoes through various traditions, from ancient healers to modern practitioners like Dr. Milton Mills, who demonstrates through comparative anatomy that humans are naturally frugivores – beings designed to consume fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts, like our primate relatives.
Dr. Mills presents compelling evidence that our most common chronic illnesses – heart disease, strokes, hypertension, liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and colon cancer – directly link to animal consumption. Notably, these conditions never affect natural carnivores, suggesting our bodies aren’t designed for meat consumption.
Sacred Living: From Rastafari Wisdom to Global Transformation
As a Ras, I view this through the lens of Haile Selassie I’s teachings. Born in 1892, he emerged from an era when herbal medicine prevailed and meat remained scarce and expensive. The industrial age brought standardized medicine and practices that further separated us from our natural way of being – our own Tree of Life.
The Rastafarian concept of “ital” beautifully combines “I and I” (recognizing ourselves in others) with “vital,” extending this recognition to all living beings. This philosophy aligns perfectly with Genesis 1:29 and finds historical support in various spiritual traditions. The biblical Daniel’s vegetarian diet enabled him to outperform his meat-eating contemporaries, and evidence suggests this dietary choice was common among prophets.
Consider the Essenes, a sect contemporary with Jesus Christ yet conspicuously absent from biblical accounts despite historical documentation by Josephus. Pope Benedict XVI’s acknowledgment that Jesus likely belonged to these strict vegetarian raw food healers challenges modern Christian interpretations of dietary freedom. The contrast with New Testament descriptions of fish-feeding miracles suggests significant Roman colonial influence on biblical translations.
The exponential rise in veganism parallels growing scientific support for plant-based living. Oxford’s EPIC study and World Health Organization findings confirm the health and ecological benefits of plant-based diets. We stand at a crucial crossroads where climate change, heavily impacted by animal agriculture, demands immediate attention. The devastation of marine ecosystems through overfishing and the methane production from farms present urgent challenges.
Yet these environmental concerns pale beside the ethical implications of enslaving trillions of sentient beings simply for pleasure. As Gandhi reportedly observed, “A civilization is defined by how well it treats its weakest members.” Our transition toward respecting animal life promises multiple benefits: increased food security, more efficient land use, and the possibility of redirecting agricultural subsidies toward sustainable farming.
Though this vision may seem distant, scientific necessity drives us toward it. Climate change denial, often fueled by industries profiting from animal products and related illnesses, cannot persist indefinitely. This age of Apocalypse – literally meaning “unveiling” – marks humanity’s awakening to a wisdom that values all life, recognizing how this consciousness serves everyone’s highest good.
