seeds — grains, legumes, nuts — have special properties, and are described separately in chapter 9 The Original Food The idea that plants are our original and therefore only proper food has deep cultural roots In the Golden Age described by Greek and Roman mythology, the earth gave of itself freely, without cultivation, and humans ate only nuts and fruit And in Genesis, Adam and Eve spend their brief innocence as gardeners: And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food…And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it The Bible doesn’t mention meat as food until after it records the first killing, Cain’s murder of his brother Abel Many individuals and groups from Pythagoras to the present have chosen to eat only plant foods to avoid taking the life of another creature capable of feeling pain And most people throughout history have had no choice, because meat is far more costly to produce than grains and tubers Plants as Food The Nature of Plants Plants and animals are very different kinds of living things, and this is because they have evolved different solutions to a single basic challenge: how to obtain the energy and substance necessary to grow and reproduce Plants essentially nourish themselves They build their tissues out of water, minerals, and ... produce than grains and tubers Plants as Food The Nature of Plants Plants and animals are very different kinds of living things, and this is because they have evolved different solutions to a single basic.. .The Bible doesn’t mention meat as food until after it records the first killing, Cain’s murder of his brother Abel Many individuals and groups from Pythagoras to the present have... challenge: how to obtain the energy and substance necessary to grow and reproduce Plants essentially nourish themselves They build their tissues out of water, minerals, and