Permission to Eat Meat/2/en

Permission to Eat Meat

Exegetical Approaches

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Never Prohibited

Eating meat was permitted from the beginning of time, and even Adam was always allowed to eat animals.

Sources:PhiloQUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON GENESIS, II:58About Philo, R. Yaakov of Kefar Chanan in Bereshit Rabbah(Theodore Albeck) 16:16About Bereshit Rabbah, R. Saadia Gaon #1Commentary Bereshit 1 (p. 259-260)Commentary Bereshit 9 (p. 344)About R. Saadia Gaon, Yefet b. Eli the KaraiteBereshit 9:3About Yefet b. Eli the Karaite, RalbagBereshit Beur HaMilot 1:29About R. Levi b. Gershom, ShadalBereshit 1:30Bereshit 9:4About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto

"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה" – According to this position, these words were intended to proscribe man's consumption of meat.  The exegetes differ, though, in their interpretations of the verse:

• Speaking of the norm – R. Saadia explains that Hashem mentioned only vegetation and fruits because these are mankind's major food source, while meat is a luxury eaten only much less often.
• Description rather than command – Ralbag¹ asserts that these words are not a command to man at all but rather a further description of man's creation and a statement of natural law.²  Hashem is simply saying that He created humans with the capacity to eat vegetation, even though grasses and plants are far from man's nature and one might have not expected him to possess this capability.³
• Contrast to animals – Shadal asserts that the verse serves to contrast man, who is given seeds and fruit to eat, with animals who were given only grasses to consume.  The difference highlights man's greater intellect (only he had knowledge to sow and plant) and flows from the prior blessing regarding man's dominion over the animal kingdom.

"And you shall rule over the fish" ("וּרְדוּ בִּדְגַת הַיָּם") – According to Shadal, this phrase alludes to the fact that Adam was allowed to kill animals for food.  Shadal notes that it is impossible to rule over fish unless one takes them out of the water, and this inevitably leads to their deaths.⁴  Thus, it is clear that Hashem had no problem with man killing living beings for utilitarian purposes.

Why not mention meat explicitly?

• Minority discounted – According to R. Saadia, this case is similar to many others in which people focus on the majority and make no mention of a minority, even though they do not intend to exclude it.
• Obvious – For Ralbag, the ability of man to eat meat was obvious and thus did not need to be stated.  It was his capability of eating vegetation which was surprising and needed to be mentioned.
• Prevent unnecessary killing – Shadal asserts that Hashem only alluded to the permission to eat meat rather than making it more explicit so as not to encourage man to spill blood.
• Way of Torah – Yefet the Karaite suggests that sometimes the Torah mentions something only at a later point, even though it was applicable earlier.  He compares the situation here to the list of pure and impure animals which is provided only in Devarim 14 but not in Parashat Noach, even though already Noach in Bereshit 7:2 needed to differentiate between the two.⁵

Why speak of meat after the flood, if already allowed? Ralbag and Shadal assert that Hashem explicitly states that man receives permission to eat meat after the flood, not to introduce a new command, but rather to juxtapose the fact with the new prohibition not to spill man's blood or to tear a limb from a live animal (אבר מן החי).  Hashem warns that although man is allowed to kill animals, this leniency does not extend to people, and that additionally one is not allowed to act cruelly towards animals even for the purpose of eating.

"כְּיֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כֹּל" – The comparison to vegetation is difficult for this approach since there would seem to be no need for it, given that meat, too, had always been permitted.  N. Rabban⁶ suggests that the words should not be viewed as an allusion back to Bereshit 1.  Rather, in the context of the new prohibition not to shed blood, Hashem reassures man that there is no ethical problem in killing animals, just as there is none in eating vegetation.

Proofs from nature – Shadal attempts to prove from the physiology of humans that Hashem could never have intended for man to eat only vegetables.  Man's teeth and body were created with the capacity to eat and digest meat, not just greens.⁷  If Hashem had not wanted man to be carnivorous, He would not have equipped his body with such abilities.⁸

Philosophical motivations – Can Hashem change His mind? Ralbag is bothered by the idea that Hashem's will might change.  He asserts that it is not possible that Hashem could originally prohibit meat from mankind and then change His mind to allow it after the flood.⁹

Evaluation of eating meat – This position does not view vegetarianism as an ideal and sees no problem with killing animals for food.

Sacrifices before the flood – This position might suggest that Hevel's role as shepherd and the sacrifice of sheep supports the idea that meat was permitted before the flood as well.

Were animals always carnivorous? According to this position, animals, too, were always allowed to eat meat.¹⁰  In fact, R, Saadia points to the fact that many animals are predators as evidence that meat was always allowed.  Had it not been, there should have been a verse that explicitly permitted it to them.

Messianic times – "וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל תֶּבֶן" – Shadal explains that the verse is not to be read literally but is rather an analogy teaching that in the future the strong will no longer oppress and take advantage of the weak.  It has nothing to do with changing eating habits or the ideal diet in the Messianic era.

Prohibited After Adam's Sin Until the Flood

Adam was initially allowed to eat meat, but he lost this privilege after the sin in the Garden of Eden.  Permission was restored after the Flood atoned for man's sins.

Sources:RashbaResponsa 367About R. Shelomo b. Aderet, Akeidat YItzchak, Tzeror Hamor #2Tzeror HaMor Bereshit 9:1About R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor)

"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה" – According to this position, this statement was first said to Adam after he sinned by eating of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.¹¹  Originally he was permitted to eat meat, but after the sin Hashem limited his food to vegetation.¹²

Why the change? Rashba explains that in sinning, man let his physical side overcome his intellectual side, lowering him to the level of animals.  Once he was no longer distinguished from beasts and no longer superior to them he lost the privilege of killing them to serve himself (although he was still permitted to sacrifice of them for Hashem).¹³  Akeidat Yitzchak compares it to the punishment of the snake, whose food source is also demoted (to dirt) after the sin.¹⁴

After the flood: "כׇּל רֶמֶשׂ אֲשֶׁר הוּא חַי לָכֶם יִהְיֶה לְאׇכְלָה" – Since the flood served to atone for Adam's sin and to kill off the sinning population, afterwards Hashem renewed permission to eat meat, but accompanied the statement with a reminder that spilling human blood is prohibited.

Sacrifices before the flood – Rashba asserts that even when meat was forbidden as a food source, it was still permitted to sacrifice to Hashem of them.

Parallel cases – Rashba suggests that the stages here parallel the stages regarding the permission granted to eat meat for pleasure (בשר תאוה) in the desert.¹⁵  He suggests that initially this was permitted, but with the sin of the Golden Calf, it was prohibited and only sacrificial meat was allowed.  With entry into Israel, the nation was forgiven and permission to eat meat was renewed.

Evaluation of eating meat – This position views eating animals as the norm and a sign of man's superiority, while a diet lacking meat is considered a punishment.

Were animals always carnivorous? According to Akeidat Yitzchak animals (in contrast to humans) were actually never given permission to eat meat and were really meant to always be herbivores.  This is consistent with his theory that every creature is meant to eat of the creatures on the level below him in the hierarchy of living beings.  He claims that the fact that there are predators among animals today is only a remnant of the corruption of their nature during the generation of the flood.

Messianic times – "וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל תֶּבֶן" – Akeidat Yitzchak asserts that this verse describes the return of animals to their natural state of being herbivores, but not to any change in the diet of people.

First Permitted Only After the Flood

Man was not given permission to eat meat until after the Flood.  Commentators differ in their understanding of the reason for the change:

Permission as a Reward

As a reward for caring for the animals on the ark, Noach and future generations were given permission to eat meat.

Sources:R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 9:3About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, RadakBereshit 1:29Bereshit 9:3About R. David Kimchi, RambanBereshit 1:29Bereshit 9:3About R. Moshe b. Nachman, Ran

"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה" – According to these sources, this statement limited man's intake to vegetation.¹⁶  Ran explains that in light of the earlier command to rule over the fish and birds, Hashem needed to explain that such authority did not extend to eating of these animals.

After the flood: "כׇּל רֶמֶשׂ אֲשֶׁר הוּא חַי לָכֶם יִהְיֶה לְאׇכְלָה" – According to these commentators the verse represents a new command, granting permission to eat all animals¹⁷ thereby undoing what had before been prohibited.

"כְּיֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כֹּל" – According to this position, the verse alludes back to the original command of Chapter 1.  Hashem compares meat to vegetation to teach Noach that the two are now comparable and he can eat meat just as he had earlier eaten greens.

Why was meat originally prohibited?

• Saved for later – According to Radak, there was no fundamental reason for the original prohibition.  Hashem simply wanted to save meat as a future reward for Noach.¹⁸
• Prevent suffering – Ran asserts that as animals can feel pain, man was not allowed to kill them.  He says that this is the reason why even later, when eating is permitted, one is not allowed to cause animals undue suffering.
• Equal Status – Ramban assumes that man was prohibited from killing animals since the two were similar in stature (with both able to feel pain and desiring to escape death).¹⁹ 

Why the change?

• Radak views the permission to eat meat as simply compensation for Noach's labor and good deeds.  Ran adds that Hashem might have also wanted to ease Noach's pain and loneliness in losing his world through the flood.
• R"Y Bekhor Shor and Ramban suggest that there was a more fundamental change.  R"Y Bekhor Shor says that in saving the animals, Noach gained certain rights over them and they became his to do with as he pleased.  Ramban implies that Noach's actions revealed that man was in fact superior to the animals, thus removing the original reason for the prohibition.²⁰

Evaluation of eating meat

• According to Radak there is nothing wrong with eating meat, and the existence of predators is built into nature.  In fact, it would seem that Hashem considers meat, rather than vegetables, the more lofty food, and thus saved it as a reward. 
• R"Y Bekhor Shor and Ramban more simply suggest that there is a hierarchy to living beings, and thus, as long as man is superior to animals, he has the right to kill them.

Were animals always carnivorous? According to Radak, predatory animals were created as such, and were allowed to eat meat well before the flood.  However, he asserts that at the very beginning of creation (and on the ark) animals did not eat each other, and survived instead on vegetation, for otherwise it would have meant the end of a species.²¹

Messianic times – "וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל תֶּבֶן" – Radak asserts that the verses in Yeshayahu 11 do not imply a change in the nature of animals in the future, but rather constitute a promise that predators will not prey in the land of Israel nor cause damage there.²²

Permission as a Concession

After the Flood, mankind was allowed to eat animals as a concession to human frailty.

Sources:Midrash Aggadah (Buber)Bereshit 9:3About Midrash Aggadah (Buber), R. Yosef ibn KaspiDevarim 22:6About R. Yosef ibn Kaspi, R. Yosef AlboSefer Ha'Ikarim 3:15About R. Yosef Albo, AbarbanelBereshit 9:1-4About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, Tzeror HaMor #1Tzeror HaMor Bereshit 9:1About R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor), SefornoBereshit 6:13About R. Ovadyah Seforno, R. A"Y KookR. A"Y Kook, U. CassutoBereshitAbout Prof. Umberto Cassuto

"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה" – According to these sources, the command to Adam only mentions vegetation and purposefully excluded animals.

After the flood: "כׇּל רֶמֶשׂ אֲשֶׁר הוּא חַי לָכֶם יִהְיֶה לְאׇכְלָה" – It was first with Hashem's blessing to Noach after the flood that meat was permitted.

Why was meat originally prohibited?

• No death yet – Midrash Aggadah asserts that originally (before Adam's sin in the Garden) no one was supposed to die, so killing even for food was prohibited.²³
• Sanctity of life – R. Kook and Cassuto explain more simply that the prohibition stems from the sanctity of all life.  Though man might rule over animals, he cannot ignore their vitality.  All life is sacred, even that of animals.
• Unethical to animals – R. Kook also maintains that this prohibition is similar to others which try to minimize the pain or suffering of animals.
• Killing leads to cruelty – Ibn Kaspi and R. Yosef Albo focus on what the action does to man, asserting that the act of killing leads man to become cruel.²⁴  R. Albo adds that the consumption of animals dirties the soul while Tzeror HaMor speaks of its detrimental effect on the intellect.

Why the change? All these commentators agree that permission to eat meat was granted only as a second resort (בדיעבד) because of the circumstances of the flood era, but differ in the specifics:

• Practical necessity – Abarbanel maintains that permission was granted out of necessity.  Since the flood had destroyed all produce, Hashem had to allow Noach to eat of animals or they would have perished from famine.  Abarbanel does not explain, why then, the prohibition was not renewed after vegetation grew again.
• Man weakened – Seforno and Tzeror HaMor assert that the people who lived after the flood were weaker than Adam's generation.  Seforno maintains that the quality of the world's atmosphere and vegetation had deteriorated during the flood, while Tzeror HaMor points to the shortened lifespans of humans.  To compensate for this frailty, Hashem allowed the human species to eat meat.
• Teach humans their proper status – R. Albo maintains that one of the problems of humankind had been that they did not realize that they were different from animals, leading to the principle that "might is right".  To ensure that man recognized their higher stature, Hashem allowed man to eat of the animals.
• Degraded morals – R. Kook and U. Cassuto suggest that due to man's degraded morality, Hashem decided to hold him to a lower standard than the earlier ideal.  If man was to have an inclination to kill and be violent better that he channel it into killing animals than fellow humans.

Evaluation of eating meat – This position maintains that vegetarianism is the ideal and that, a priori, it should never have been permitted to eat meat.²⁵

Were animals always carnivorous? According to this approach, predatory animals, too, were originally herbivores.

Messianic times – "וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל תֶּבֶן"

• Seforno, R. Kook, and Cassuto suggest that in the future the world will revert back to the ideal of creation.  Cassuto points to Yeshayahu 11 as support that in Messianic times even animals will no longer eat one another, but only plants.²⁶
• Abarbanel agrees but limits this to the Land of Israel.²⁷  He posits that predatory animals were created as punitive tools of Hashem.  In the era of the Mashiach this will not be necessary as evil will have disappeared and the Mashiach himself will mete out justice.

אבר מן החי – R. Yose b. Ibo 34:13About Bereshit Rabbah suggests that the prohibition of eating a limb from a live animal is first given to Noach because it is only then that eating meat at all is permitted.  Beforehand such a prohibition would be unnecessary as it was subsumed in the general prohibition of eating meat.

Original Prohibition was only a Practical Necessity

Adam was not prohibited from eating meat for any fundamental reason, but only due to the scarcity of animals at the time or because he simply lacked knowledge of how to cook them.

Sources:R. Saadia Gaon #2Commentary Bereshit 1 (p. 259-260)Commentary Bereshit 4 (p. 304)Commentary Bereshit 9 (p. 344)About R. Saadia Gaon, Hoil MosheBereshitAbout R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi

"הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע ... לְאׇכְלָה" – This original command prescribed a vegetarian diet.

After the flood: "כׇּל רֶמֶשׂ אֲשֶׁר הוּא חַי לָכֶם יִהְיֶה לְאׇכְלָה" – After the flood, Hashem granted man permission to eat meat just as he had earlier eaten greens.

Why was meat originally prohibited?

• Scarcity of animals –  R. Saadia posits that Hashem only prohibited man from eating meat at the beginning of creation due to the scarcity of animals.²⁸  Had men been predators, there was a real possibility that many species might go extinct.²⁹
• Lack of technology – Hoil Moshe asserts that though Hashem prefers that man's intake of meat be limited, He nonetheless allows it in moderation.  In the beginning of the world, though, man had not yet learned to cook or roast meat and raw meat did not appeal to his palate, so he naturally ate mainly vegetation.³⁰

Why the change?

• According to R. Saadia's approach it is surprising that permission would be granted right after the flood, considering that at that point, too, there was a scarcity of animals.³¹
• Hoil Moshe maintains that by this point civilization had progressed enough that man had learned how to cook meat.

Sacrifices before the flood – R. Saadia asserts that the text specifies that Kayin and Hevel only brought their sacrifices "מִקֵּץ יָמִים" to teach that before killing any animals, they had waited for them to multiply enough so that the loss of one would not harm the species.

Were animals always carnivorous?

• No – According to R. Saadia animals, too, were originally prohibited from killing one another to ensure their survival.
• Yes – According to Hoil Moshe, from the beginning animals were able to eat one another since they had no problem eating meat raw.³²  As proof he points to Noach's sending of the raven outside the ark, which he assumes had to be for the purpose of finding carcasses to eat.

Evaluation of eating meat – These commentators disagree in their evaluation.  While R. Saadia assumes that there is no issue at all in eating meat, Hoil Moshe assumes that though Hashem allows it, He nonetheless prefers that it be in moderation.  Thus, too, when Hashem permits the Nation of Israel to eat meat, He warns that they should not do so continuously but only when they are filled with desire for it.

Messianic times – "וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר יֹאכַל תֶּבֶן" – Hoil Moshe asserts that the verses in Yeshayahu are a metaphoric way of  describing a future of peace, where the poor are not oppressed by the strong.  They are not meant to be understood literally as a change in the nature of animals.

Polemical motivations – M. Zucker³³ suggests that R. Saadia might be motivated by a polemic with Karaites, such as D. AlkumsiHoshea 9:3-4About Daniel AlKumisi the Karaite, who assert that meat was only allowed after Noach offered a sacrifice³⁴ and thus learn that in exile, when there are no longer sacrifices, meat is no longer permitted.  To distance himself from such a possibility, R. Saadia posits that the prohibition was purely technical.

¹ See Philo similarly, "perhaps the present expression has no reference to eating food, but rather to the possession of the power to do so."

² As proof that the words are an extension of the description of creation, Ralbag points to the fact that the words are followed by the statement "and it was so", the same phrase that follows the description of the other facets of creation. Cf. R. D"Z Hoffmann who makes a similar point.

³ Apparently, according to Ralbag even though Hashem also created man and animals with the ability to eat meat, this was not mentioned explicitly as this was more obvious since humans and animals are much more similar to each other than to plants.

⁴ He argues against those who claim that "ruling" might refer to benefiting from the animals (making use of fish oils or the like) by pointing out that other instances of the root "רדה" all connote some type of oppression of the other, leading to their subservience.  See the word's usage in Vayikra 25:43, Vayikra 26:17, and Melakhim I 5:4.

⁵ Other commentators (see Reconstructed Rashbam) explain that that terms in Bereshit 7:2 of "הַטְּהוֹרָה" and "לֹא טְהֹרָה" are only the language of the narrator, and Noach was merely given a list of each but not the laws of Kashrut.

⁶ See his article, "שאלת אכילת בשר בפרשת בראשית" in Tarbiz 21 (1950): 25-29.

⁷ The existence of canines that are made to tear meat suggest that man was meant to do so.  In addition, man's gut does not chew its cud, suggesting that he was not intended to be a pure herbivore.

⁸ Hoil Moshe questions this assertion.  Since Hashem is omniscient, He might have created man with this ability knowing that he was to eat meat in the future.  In addition, there are many people who eat only fruits and grains despite having the ability to also meat.  For further critique of Shadal's arguments, see E. Samet's article, "אדם הראשון לא הותר לו בשר לאכילה" p.4-5, n.14.

⁹ Ralbag notes that one might argue that when Hashem later prohibits the Israelites from eating certain types of food, this is also an instance of His changing His mind.  Ralbag argues that this is not comparable since Hashem  simply wanted to distinguish the nation of Israel from others, and thus prevented them from eating some of the foods allowed to the descendants of Noach.  This, thus, is not an example of Hashem changing some fundamental principle, but rather adding obligations to a specific group of people so as to elevate them.

¹⁰ R. Saadia is the only one to address the question explicitly, but Ralbag and Shadal's arguments all work for animals as well.

¹¹ Accordingly, the verse is placed out of chronological order.  Rashba might explain that the sin occurred so early in history that the Torah views the prohibition as existing almost from the beginning of time.

¹² Perhaps this verse is equivalent to Hashem's curse to Adam that "by the sweat of your brow will you eat bread" (Bereshit 3:19).  Now that meat was prohibited, man would have to toil extra in the fields.

¹³ Just as a person is not allowed to kill a fellow human because the two are on equal footing, so too in this era when man proved himself to be similar to animals, he was not permitted to kill them.

¹⁴ Akeidat Yitzchak asserts that each species is meant to eat of the food source underneath them in the hierarchy of living beings.  Thus humans are meant to eat animals, animals to eat plants, and plants to take their sustenance from the ground etc.

¹⁵ See Devarim 12:20-28. Cf. R. D"Z Hoffmann who also notes the parallel to the changing laws of eating meat for pleasure but does not associate these with sin and punishment.

¹⁶ Ramban asserts that it simultaneously served to slightly elevate man above other creatures since only he was permitted seeds and fruit, while the birds and beasts were only given grasses.

¹⁷ Even though the verse actually only mentions "רֶמֶשׂ", Ramban assumes that the word includes all living creatures from bird to fish, while Radak suggests that the verse is missing a "ויו" and should read as if written, "all creeping creatures and all that are alive." See Jubilees6:1-23About Jubilees who replaces the word "רֶמֶשׂ" with explicit mention of beast, animal and bird. 
Cf. the opinion of Shelomo Miller (brought by Shadal) who learns from the specific mention of "רֶמֶשׂ" that actually only such creatures (who do not have blood) were allowed while all other animals (who do have blood) were still prohibited.  It is unclear, though, how he would explain all the cases in which people (from Avraham on) eat animals in Tanakh.

¹⁸ Radak does not explain why Hashem decided to save this food source as a reward rather than compensating Noach in some other fashion.

¹⁹ The Ramban and Ran are very similar in their approaches but while Ramban highlights the problem of killing your almost-equal, the Ran focuses more on the suffering that animals will feel.

²⁰ He does not say this explicitly, but this would follow from his words.

²¹ Cf. R. Saadia Gaon below.

²² Thus, it will be as if the lion is eating grains.

²³ One might have thought that as soon as Adam sinned and mortality was introduced into the world, meat would have been permitted.  The Midrash answers that Hashem delayed the permission so that "the sinner should not benefit from his sin."

²⁴ Ibn Kapsi points out that the many laws that teach one to act mercifully to animals and nature help humble man and let him recognize that he is not all that different from them.

²⁵ See R. Asher of Lunel (cited by the Avudraham) who suggests that the reason the blessing "שהכל נהיה בדברו" uses the verb "היה" and not "ברא" (the verb used in other blessings) is that animals were not originally created for the purpose of food.

²⁶ See R. Bachya who suggests the same though he understands the varying commands to Adam and Noach differently.

²⁷ The verse in Yeshayahu specifies, "לֹא יָרֵעוּ וְלֹא יַשְׁחִיתוּ בְּכׇל הַר קׇדְשִׁי".

²⁸ Cf. Radak above who posits that animals did not eat of each other both at the beginning of creation and during the flood for this reason.

²⁹ Cf. RambanDevarim 22:6About R. Moshe b. Nachman's similar explanation to the prohibition of "וְשׁוֹר אוֹ שֶׂה אֹתוֹ וְאֶת בְּנוֹ לֹא תִשְׁחֲטוּ בְּיוֹם אֶחָד" in Vayikra 22:28.  See also the Karaite opinion brought by Mann in JQR 15:3, p. 372-373: "אבל הברואים אשר נבראו עם האדם היו אסורים לשחוט כי ברכם []נם [ככ]ת' ולרבות ולא לשחוט עד אשר יקימו בניהם תחתם ועד אשר יגדלו בניהם וישיגו גם הם לפריה ולרביה אז יכשר שיתיר להם שחיטתם ואכילתם ושחיטתם..."

³⁰ Cf. Midrash Aggadah which suggests that until the time of Nimrod no one ate meat since he was the first to learn how to hunt.

³¹ R. Saadia is actually not explicit that permission was first granted after the flood, and might actually hold that as soon as animals had multiplied sufficiently, man was allowed to kill them.  This, in fact, is what he implies in his explanation of the term "וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ יָמִים" by the story of Kayin and Hevel, where he suggests that Hevel waited to sacrifice of his sheep until he had many of them.  Nonetheless, based on R. Saadia's logic the prohibition should have been renewed (or have remained in place) after the flood and the explicit permission specifically at that point needs explaining.  Unfortunately, R. Saadia's comments on the verse are missing.

³² In fact, he suggests that watching predatory beasts eat other animals is what gave man the idea that they might be edible to man as well.

³³ See M. Zucker,  על תרגום רס"ג לתורה : פרשנות, הלכה ופולמיקה בתרגום התורה של ר` סעדיה גאון, (NY, 1959): 444-446.

³⁴ Cf. Midrash Aggadah (Buber)Bereshit 9:3About Midrash Aggadah (Buber) and Ibn EzraBereshit 9:3About R. Avraham ibn Ezra who also mention that Noach's sacrifice is what permitted meat.