בראשית פרק א, כט וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹק ים הִנֵה נָתַתִי לָכֶם אֶת-כָל-עֵשֶב זֹּרֵעַ זֶרַע אֲשֶר עַל-פְּ נֵי כָל-הָאָרֶץ וְאֶת -כָל-הָעֵץ אֲשֶר-בוֹ פְרִ י- עֵץ זֹּרֵעַ זָרַע לָכֶם יִהְיֶה לְאָכְלָה:
סנהדרין דף נט/ב אמר רב יהודה אמר רב אדם הראשון לא הותר לו בשר לאכילה דכתיב לכם יהיה לאכלה ול כל חית הארץ ולא חית הארץ לכם, וכשבאו בני נח התיר להם שנאמר כירק עשב נתתי לכם את כל יכול לא יהא אבר מן החי נוהג בו
Even though the tradition says that 7 mitzvos were commanded to B’nai Noach, the mitzvah of “ever min hachai” (eating a torn limb from a living animal) was not given to Adam haRishon. And the above derusha provides a reason since eating any meat from an animal was not allowed to Adam. And when meat was allowed to Noach, then this 7th commandment was applicable.
And one should know that this commandment not to eat animal meat applied until Noach and his family left the Ark. “Like the vegetation for food” now permitted eating meat. As for the reason meat was not permitted until that point, I (T.T.) found in Midrashim that meat was permitted to Noach since he offered a korban, and more, that he saved all the animals that had faced extinction. Initially, all animals were not permitted to be eaten since all animals were created to live (only after Adam sinned was death also decreed on the animals).
