The scientific answer is fairly straightforward (if dull): The cells that comprise the human body require energy to perform their various biochemical functions; chemical processes of the body convert the energy stored in food into energy the body needs in the form of vitamins, minerals, water, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, and proteins.
(Thank you, Captain Obvious.)
So I ask again: why do we eat? It sounds like a fair enough deal. I'll eat food and the biological factory that makes me me will continue to thrive until it runs out of steam. But eating is a messy proposition. It's downright dangerous. People die every day because of food. Let's look at the various ways in which food kills us.
And if you can somehow manage to keep all of that straight for your entire life, you could end up eating the right food, at the right time, and with the best of intentions, and still end up choking to death.
From a purely scientific view, this makes sense. We are, after all, bound to the rules of the universe in which we live. We must eat to keep our bodies' energy cycles going, and we're just one species out of millions - not all food can or should be eaten by us. Further, the universe is an unforgiving place. Sometimes a steak is just a steak. Other times, it's a Mad Cow-infected death sentence.
Obviously, the scientific point of view doesn't work for everyone; to each his own. Being the ever-curious type, I'm left to ask: What kind of creator would design a universe with such an imperfect method of sustenance delivery? From a Christian point of view, why would God create beings in His image, claim to love them unconditionally, and then allow them to suffer and die from eon to eon?
How many people had to die through the years so we could identify which berries were off-limits? How many families have suffered because a loved one ate a bad piece of meat or had an unexpected allergic reaction? How many people are suffering this very day because they either spent life eating shitty food or were born in a place that is lucky to see food at all?
Each food-related risk could be addressed by an omnipotent being. Salmonella could be eradicated. Or made benign to humans. Or eliminated from existence altogether. Allergies? Gone. Cholesterol and poisonous mushrooms could disappear faster than Obama's birth certificate. But these things would be treating the symptom and not solving the problem.
I'll ask one more time: Why do we eat? To be clear, why do we need to eat? Couldn't God have given us the ability to absorb nutrients from the ground and the sun? Plants seem to be doing fairly well. Allow me to take it one step further: why do we need to eat at all? If God controls the universe and is the reason the laws of nature exist as they do, why not create His beloved children in an environment that can't be fouled up by the folly of man? God could give humans their own miniature fusion reactor or, even better, change the laws of physics altogether so that people had all the energy they needed for a lifetime without supplementation. If we count JUST food-borne illness in JUST the US, 6,000-9,000 people die every year. Add in allergies, obesity, heart disease, choking and starvation - and the rest of the world - and the numbers are staggering.
If humanity is here as a result of a grandiose biological "accident", we can chalk this up to growing pains and hope that one day we'll be able to cure or even prevent food-related deaths. But if this is the master plan of an intelligent designer (regardless of the name you choose to give that designer), then it's a poor intelligence indeed.
