The debate between evolutionists and creationists over the Natural Selection theory, put forth in Charles Darwin’s Origins of Species, has gone on for over 150 years—with neither side claiming victory. The issue of origin of life cannot be proved, because no witness was there when life was formed. But by looking at the nutritional life support system, we can understand how life is sustained, and therefore determine that evolution is impossible.

Without nutritional support, no living thing can survive. Humans must eat food to maintain their lives—foods like seeds, fruits, vegetables, and meat—in contrast with animals that eat mostly grass. Humans cannot eat grass or hay—as cows and sheep do—and survive. In times of famine, humans have eaten non-poisonous roots of grass and bark of trees. But these things do not have enough nutritional value to sustain life.

Following the theory of Natural Selection, humans should be able to eat grass. Grass, however, contains cellulose, and humans, unlike animals, do not have the kind of bacteria needed to break down cellulose and derive energy from it. Grass also contains silex—an abrasive that enables animals’ teeth to constantly sharpen and grow. Animals actually clean their teeth by eating grass.

If humans developed from lowercategory animals as Natural Selection asserts, then humans “in the beginning” ate grass, as did the animals. But there is no evidence of humans ever eating grass in order to survive. If evolution includes upgrading changes, it should also include downgrading changes. If humans evolved from grass-eating animals, they can evolve back because of environmental changes. This would support the idea of survival of the fittest, but there is no evidence to show humans eating grass in order to survive. Evolution is impossible from this point.

Looking at the Bible Based on Nutritional Life Support

Evolution being impossible doesn’t necessarily mean that creation is possible. The Bible, however, states that God created human beings. And if this is so, then He would know how human life would be sustained.

The Bible says that God created plants on the third day. Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:11-12).

On the fifth day God created water-living creatures and birds. On the sixth day God created animals. Finally, God created man in his own image, after He created all living things. Then God said [to Adam],”I give you every seedbearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so (Genesis 1:29-30).

According to the Scripture, God gave some food for humans to eat and some food for animals to eat. This means that some food that humans eat animals cannot eat. And some food that animals eat humans cannot eat. God created vegetation—plants and trees. He gave every seed from plants and every fruit from trees to people as their food. Fruits and seeds alone would satisfy the human body’s need for nutrients. He gave every green plant to animals for food. Green plants mean the green part of the plant, like leaves and stems. God did not give fruit from trees to animals for food. And He did not tell people to eat plants until after Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree from which God had commanded them not to eat. After they disobeyed God, they had to eat the plants from the fields they cultivated.

Because Adam and Even ate the fruit of the tree from which God commanded them not to eat, the ground was cursed, and vegetation was changed. To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:17-19).

When the ground was cursed and vegetation changed, perhaps the edible seeds and fruit lacked some of their previous nutrients. Some may have even become poisonous; some may have needed to be cooked before eating—like the ginkgo nut. Adam had to painfully toil in order to have food to eat; by the sweat of his brow he got his food. God told Adam and Eve that they were to eat the plants of the field, but He did not specify what part of the plant to eat—whether stems, leaves, flowers, or roots.

After the curse, the human physical body might have changed too. It was no longer pure, as before. Food from plants was needed for greater nutrition, like medicinal herbs that are needed by sick people today. Some physical bodies cannot tolerate certain foods, even though they are perfectly nutritious. An example of this today is the peanut, which many people are allergic to.

After the great flood, God said to Noah: Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything (Genesis 9:3).

Perhaps because vegetation and human’s bodies changed after the flood, God gave all the animals to people as food to meet their nutritional requirements. Later, people rebelled against God continually. The type of food for people changed again. Not all animals were good for people to eat. God told Moses to tell Israel, His chosen people, which animals were clean to eat and which were unclean. When the environment changed, God immediately told people that they needed additional food to satisfy their bodies’ needs.

God provided various foods to be eaten by humans and other foods to be eaten by animals, so that all could survive. The major life support requirement depends on grains— seeds that are the major food of humans. Wild grass in nature is the major food of animals. Some plants’ seeds are for humans to eat, and the plants’ stems—the green part—is fodder, like the rice plant. Grass is easy to grow, but seeds and fruits are not as easy to produce as grass. In the beginning there were many different kinds of animals on the earth. If they ate the same food as humans, there might not have been enough for all. In nature today, many huge animals require an abundance of food. If these animals ate only grass, there might not be enough to sustain them. If the huge animals could eat bamboo—a plant that belongs to the grass family and grows very fast— there would be plenty of food for them. Pandas do eat bamboo, so it is easy to assume that some animals eat short grass to survive, and other animals eat bamboo to survive. God’

plan provides enough food to feed all kinds of animals.

God knows how to sustain every living thing He created. And He does it very well; He knows how things work. Even though we can’t prove that God created living things, we do know that God has planned for particular foods to be eaten by particular living beings. Since the earth has been cursed, many things have changed, including the food eaten by people and animals. The variety of foods for people seems to be fewer, and the variety of foods for animals seems to be greater. Today, animals not only eat grass and other green plants, but they eat seeds and fruits also. Since the time that Adam sinned, animals can eat our foods, but we cannot eat theirs. Humans cannot eat grass.

God didn’t give grass to humans as food, so humans cannot eat grass to survive. If humans could eat grass to survive, then evolution might be possible.

We cannot deny that our abilities are very limited. We don’t know how God created the universe and everything in it, and we cannot prove it. However, the Bible tells us about creation. We cannot say that we can deny whatever we cannot prove. We cannot say that if we cannot prove God’s words, then we can deny God. We cannot prove God’s words about how living things were created, but we can prove that if what God said about how to maintain living things matches what we observe, then God’s words are reliable and true.

Plants grow in nature year after year, exactly as the Bible says. He [God] makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth (Psalm 104:14). Humans get food from the earth. Seeds, fruits and plants grow from the earth. Animals live on the earth. They eat things from the ground. If God didn’t make plants grow, they wouldn’t grow, and we wouldn’t have food to eat. God is in control of things.

Many animals eat other animals to survive. If their food needs were satisfied, they would not need to eat other animals. If all animals in nature ate grass, they would not eat each other. Animals would live in peace. They would not disturb people and eat humans’ food either. From the Bible we know that in the future when Jesus comes again, we will enjoy the original creation design of God. Everything will be perfect. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:6-9).

At that time, lions will eat grass like oxen and other animals do. If food needs are satisfied, then the wolf can live with the lamb and the child can play with the viper. If in the future lions will eat grass like the oxen, then lions supposedly ate grass in the beginning, just like all of the other animals.

God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it, including humans. Creation has no witnesses, but it has evidences and claims. The claims are in the Bible. God’s creation was recorded in the Bible, in the book of Genesis, chapter one. The heavens, the earth, and everything in it are evidences—especially humans and the food provided for humans. It doesn’t matter if you know God or not, or if you are an evolutionist or a creationist; everyone’s physical body is evidence that God’s words are correct. Our physical lives cannot operate out of the range of what God gave us for food. Every day we eat food that God let the earth produce. Our lives are totally dependent on God’s support.

We cannot judge the theory of evolution based on the origin of living things, but we can judge it based on nutritional life support needs.

(Polly Eng, a former computer programmer, was an atheist for 40 years and used to believe in the theory of evolution. She now strongly believes in creationism, for she has found evidence in the Bible that matches with the fact. She enjoys writing on biblical topics that are important yet often overlooked.)