Veganism and Vegetarianism have become a popular lifestyle for many people with a goal of living a healthier lifestyle. My husband and I have followed this lifestyle for quite sometime. I began eliminating beef and pork from my diet while I was a college student, back in 2000. As an Exercise Science major, I studied a lot about health and the effects that certain foods have on the human body. As time went on, I became more and more concerned about my health and took a greater interest in what I could do to take preventative measures to improve my own health as I encouraged others to do the same. When I met my husband in 2012, he wasn’t in his best health. He was under 40 and suffered from high BP, and digestive issues. I encouraged him to change his diet by eliminating beef and pork, and adding more fruits and vegetables. Not long after making these changes, his BP became normal and he felt an increase in his energy levels, among other improvements.
We did our first community fast together with our church back in Houston, which was the “Daniel Fast”. With the “Daniel Fast”, we ate only fruits, vegetables, nuts, and water. It was indeed a challenge but for those of you who fast for spiritual reasons, which we will discuss at a later date, you understand it’s a sacrifice. Fasting allowed me to have a physical and spiritual breakthrough. I was already in pretty good shape but fasting allowed me to understand even more so, the benefits of following a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle. We soon decided that we would eliminate chicken and not long after we decided that we would slowly ween ourselves from fish and seafood as well.
I began researching the bible to understand whether or not God intended for us to be vegans/vegetarians…and this is what I found in the Word of God:
Genesis 1:29-30 King James Version (KJV)
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
Genesis 2:9 King James Version (KJV)
9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food ; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:16-17 King James Version (KJV)
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Here's what I learned: Man and Woman were to procreate and populate the earth. God gave them dominion over the birds and animals. God prescribed a vegetarian or vegan diet to them. Adam and Eve were free to eat all the plants and vegetation they wanted. The Creator made no mention of allowing them to eat animal flesh.
Genesis 3:17 King James Version (KJV)
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Genesis 3:21 King James Version (KJV)
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Here's what I learned: When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s instructions, committing the first sin. God’s perfect creation was destroyed! Mankind was banished from the Garden of Eden and forced to pretty much fin for themselves. The first animal was slaughtered in order to make clothes for mankind after eating of the tree of knowledge and becoming aware that they were naked (the earliest record of an animal giving its life for the good of mankind).
Genesis 9:3-4 King James Version (KJV)
3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
Here's what I learned: It wasn’t until after the flood, when God destroyed the earth because it had gotten so infested with sin, that God told Noah everything on earth was for mankind to consume…which included meat; however, it could not have life’s blood, meaning it should not be eaten raw!
Genesis 7:2 (Clean vs. Unclean Animals)
2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female. (God’s had a purpose for the unclean beasts, they were not to be eaten!)
Genesis 8:20-21 (Clean offering to God)
20 And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Leviticus 11:1-12 (Animals not to be eaten)
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
(Fish)j
9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
Here's what I learned: So, it clearly tells us in the Word that in the beginning God created mankind and intended for us to eat of the “green herb” for meat, NOT animals!! However, because of sin, God cleansed the earth by creating a mighty flood; after which, He instructed Noah that we were then allowed to eat of every moving thing on the earth. The scriptures also tell us that all meat was not clean and therefore not meant to be consumed. So, the bottom line is that we must be mindful of what we are putting into our bodies and we must not be gluttonous.
Hundreds of years ago, foods were grown naturally: non-genetically modified, one-hundred-percent organic foods that were farmed locally. In an attempt of the food industry to mass produce, they have formulated different processes that create more food but at the same time may not be good for our health. You either risk eating genetically modified meat or pesticide polluted crops. In this day and age it seems we are faced with which is the lesser evil!!!???
Well, I can only speak for the Greene House when I say that I would rather follow the original plan of God and eat that which cometh from the Garden!
I encourage you…EAT 2 LIVE, rather than LIVE 2 EAT!!
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