What does Genesis 1:29 mean?

After forming humankind on the sixth day of creation and decreeing our first purposes on the earth, God now describes what humans are to eat: the fruit of all the plants and trees created on day 3. As was the case with every other living thing created by God, these plants and trees were designed to reproduce themselves (through their seeds), one generation after the next.

It is interesting that God does not instruct humans to use animals for food at this point in history. Certainly here in the beginning, God does not explicitly offer the animals to the humans for eating. Some Bible scholars hold that there was no animal death before sin entered into the world. Others hold that the natural process of predator-prey did occur, but human beings were not subject to physical death until after the fall.

Regardless of such debates, what is clear is that God provided for the humans made in His image, and their offspring, to be fed by providing plants and trees that would reproduce themselves. In addition, humans would learn to access the seeds of those fruits and vegetables to grow more and more food for themselves, generation after generation. God has been providing for mankind from the very beginning.