Before the Fall, Adam and Eve were not yet mortal. Death did not come to any creature, so killing for food was not only unnecessary, it was impossible. Once they left the Garden, Adam was given dominion over all the Earth, to replenish it and subdue it. Nothing is mentioned about pleasure connected with killing animals, but being grateful for all things.

Hello momsaid. I was searching for the answer to another question when I happened across your answer to the vegetarian question. I thought that I would add to what has already been said. First, I think it should be noted that there was a very specific purpose for the killing of any animal at that time. God purposed that through the killing of these animals, the minds of those performing the sacrifice be taken to the promised Messiah. God wanted it to be clear in their minds, particularly in the minds of Adam and Eve, what their disobedience really cost. It wasn’t just an act of killing for the mere pleasure or taste of the meat. In second place, you have to go back to the beginning, as meatlover commented below, to before the fall of man. You see, Genesis 1:29 clearly tells us that God gave “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”, that is to man, “it shall be for meat.” Or as it is translated in the original Hebrew language, food. The following verse, verse 30, says the following. “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 herb for meat: and it was so.” So both mankind, and every created animal alike ate a plant based diet. All was at peace with other and with God in the garden before the fall of man.

Why, then, do so many people continue killing animals if the Lamb without blemish which all those sacrifices pointed to came and died on our behalf? Could it be that humanity has fallen into the same trap as the Jews did in their time? Does not the word of God tell us that they kept all of the traditions and the ceremonies that they had been commanded to, but that they had also forgotten what they had been commanded by God for? That is to say that all of the ceremonies became nothing more than vain and empty adherence. They no longer did for them what God had intended them to do. It became all about the form for them. There are many whom I have had conversations with concerning the consumption of meat, and I almost always get the same response. “I couldn’t live without meat.” The reason for many who consume meat is the same. It’s a taste thing. They enjoy the taste of meat. In other words, it’s for their pleasure that they continue to eat it. Not because they believe as many falsely assume when it is said that meat is the best source of protein. Lentils have many times more protein than meat does. What is my point in all of this? Well, let me tell you. Don’t you think it is interesting to note the description that is given in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 of a class of people that would exist in the last days? Verse 4 in particular tells us that this class of people would be “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God”.

In last place, I think it is important to go back to the beginning. It is there where we find God’s purpose for placing man in the garden. “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:15, KJV). The original Hebrew language translates the word dress as work and the word keep as protect. In other words, they were to work, or till the ground for food, and they were to protect it. This implies that no harm was to come to anything in the garden. In conclusion, I think that those who may still eat meat should keep some things in mind. It is more commonly known in our time the great injustice that exists in the modern day meat industry. The way in which these animals are raised is horrendous. And who is running these modern day meat factories? Very wealthy people who care nothing about anyone or anything other than making a quick buck. But how have they become so prosperous? Perhaps it is because we have turned a blind eye and pretended as though nothing is going on. Perhaps it is because of what we read in 2 Timothy 3. The majority of people are no longer concerned with doing what is right. They don’t like for anyone or anything to disrupt their lives of comfort and ease. Sadly, though, God has given a warning to all those who say to be followers of Jesus. In Revelation 11:18, we are told that God will destroy those who destroy the earth. God’s plan of redemption includes the work of restoring the former things, of restoring us and the earth to it’s original state, to the state it was in prior to the fall of man. But this brings us to my closing question. If we cannot accustom ourselves to living a life that reflects the state of the earth before the fall of man now, here on this present earth, how can we expect to suddenly be transformed and enjoy the kind of life that Adam and Eve enjoyed prior to their act of disobedience? That’s something to think about.