That's kinda the balance between plants vs. animals actually? With bacteria in the middle. Animals die, bacteria rot it, plants grow up tall, then we eat plants, repeat. :-P We also breathe in O2 and exhale CO2 while they do the opposite. So from the plants' POV, that's kinda what we do to them?-P.

Or, perhaps, a serving of pie.

Feeding the multitude was really just ancient human centipede.