I've been giving some thought to something. It seems to me that every living thing on this planet depends upon the death of something else. It appears that life itself depends upon death.
We sustain ourselves by consuming and digesting other living things in order to survive. Plants and animals alike serve as sustenance for us. This seems to be the way of things here. Something has to die for us to live. I can't think of a single living thing that doesn't derive it's life giving sustenance from the death of something else.
Plants typically draw what they need from the earth. They suck in the remains of other plants as well as animals that have died and decomposed into the ground. "Dirt" is often largely composed of decaying animal and plant matter. They thrive on the death of other living things.
Animals eat either plants, other animals, or some combination of the two in order to survive. They also thrive on the deaths of other living things.
As morbid as it sounds, it seems to me that death is the real life-giving force on our planet.