Did Apes Evolve to Eat More Fruit?

Genesis 2:16-17
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Britain’s Telegraph newspaper carried a fascinating article, recently, with a new spin on the myth of the evolution of human beings: that apes evolved into humans, by eating lots of fruit.

The NYU scientists’ report, published in Nature, is entitled “Primate brain size is predicted by diet but not sociality”. Previous evolutionary models suggested that development of apes’ brains was caused by their social interaction. As they picked fleas off one another, they needed to think more deeply about abstract concepts. However, the NYU researchers have noticed that there is a correlation between the amount of fruit eaten, and the sizes of the brains of non-human primates.

The team have studied over 140 species, and were careful to study any correlation between social behavior and brain size—but no such correlation was apparent. Yet, when they compared brain size to diet, it was found that the primates that eat fruit had brains 25% larger than those that ate other plant material.

The problem with such reports is the attempt to fit observations into a mythological evolutionary paradigm. There is no justification from the research to suggest that primates evolved into humans, by eating a few more apples. Yet the Telegraph cannot resist jumping on this factor, with this headline: “Would you Adam & Eve it? Fruit may have been the making of mankind”. Mankind did indeed become what he is today, by eating a fruit, which God had commanded them not to eat. But that was not evolution. That was sin!

Prayer:
We thank You, Lord God, for making so many diverse animals, including these beautiful apes. We also thank You for gifting men and women to be able to study these animals, to find out more about Your creation. Amen.

Notes:
Nature Ecology & Evolution 1, Article number: 0112 (2017), doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0112
Image: Adobe Stock Photos, licensed to author