Questions Regarding Nutrition in the Light of Spiritual Science

If we look at humans in contrast to plants, we see that plants are two-part beings. Plants have a physical body and an etheric body. We now compare humans with plants by taking a comprehensive approach and considering the inner, spiritual aspect. We relate the four-part human organism to the two-part organism of plants. To support this, we can start from physical, known facts. We can point out how the plant builds up its organism. It assembles inorganic substances to form its body. It has the power to assemble its body in the most wonderful way from individual inanimate components. We need only see how the plant interacts in a remarkable way with the respiratory process. Humans breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Plants can absorb the carbon dioxide, which is useless to humans. They retain the carbon to build their organism and return most of the oxygen. But they need something that many people may not consider special: they need sunlight. Without sunlight, they could not build their organism. The light that streams down to us to our delight, which can also invigorate us spiritually, is at the same time a great helper in building up the plant organism. We see how a miracle is taking place, how sunlight helps to build up an organic being. What makes our eyes effective is what helps the plant to grow.