Food Trends

As my family and I have been transitioning our eating habits over the past 2-years I have noticed us going back to a more organic, natural and plant based diet.  Kind of a back to the basics trend.  We considered ourselves very healthy eaters before, but now I realize that we were simply uneducated.  Today I would consider us truly healthy eaters and so much more free because of the changes we have made.  I no longer crave foods such as soda, chocolate, candy, French fries and more.  I can actually walk down a candy isle and not even think about the candy I am missing.  Or I can sit down to eat with a group of people where everyone is drinking soda and I am drinking water and not crave a soda or feel like I am missing out.  That is a wonderful freedom, the lack of feeling deprived.

Anyway, that is not what this post is about.  It is about a correlation I have noticed with today's eating trends vs. what I read in the Bible.

First, let's start at the beginning, the Garden of Eden.  What did mankind eat?  People at raw fruits and vegetables.  That's it.  No animals had been killed (or died) up until the time of the fall, and I'm not sure how long of a time span that was.  Had Adam and Eve already had children?  How old were they?  Had they been alive many years?  Nonetheless, however long it was they only ate raw fruits and vegetables.  Today's parallel food trend would be the raw foodie, raw vegan or 80-10-10 person.  I see this trend today and in the Bible.

Next I see the introduction of gathering.  Possibly fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and other things like eggs.  This could be similar to our current vegetarian diets where cooked grains, beans and some non-plant based foods like eggs are consumed.  I see this trend today and in the Bible.

After that the hunter is introduced.  So not only do we eat fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts, but we add some meat to the diet.  The hunter's diet did not contain a lot of meat because sometimes they would hunt for days or even weeks before catching their game.  Then when they came home that game fed not only their immediate family, but also their large extended family.  Meat was not the highlight of the meal, but rather a flavoring undertone.  This can be compared somewhat to today's paleo/hunter gatherer diet.  (minus the grains)  I see this trend today and in the Bible.

Then we introduced buying our food.  I couldn't go hunting so I will trade my veggies for your rabbit.  This started the market/barter/trade of food and other items.  This allowed us to pick and choose what we eat and allowed for greater meat consumption.  I see this trend today and in the Bible.

And then there came processed foods and supermarkets and fast food restaurants and restaurant chains.  Much meat, much processed, little fresh fruits and vegetables.  This is the typical American diet, and I don't see this one in the Bible. 

I am not here to tell you which one(s) to pick, but I will say that I tend to lean toward the first three ways of eating and I shy away from the last two.  (yes, I purchase much of my produce at the supermarket.)

Which one do you lean toward?  Have you seen any benefits in changing your diet?  Have you seen any harm in changing your diet?  Did I leave a trend out?  Do you tend to link food to other areas of your life like socializing, feeling better, comforting, health or something else?

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