It's called "reusable code". Intelligent designers do it all the time.
Is this sacrifice of the individual for the survival of the population something a loving intelligence would design in?
Apparently, He did. Perhaps He is aware that there's more to Man than biology. Perhaps He wishes to relate to Man spiritually, rather than just biologically. Or perhaps some people have forgotten that (according to Genesis) death only entered into creation after Man sinned. It wasn't part of the original design.
So if you agree that creation can be reduced to coding and if the code is shown to be self modifying through mutations and natural selection there is no need for a supernatural coder.
I can understand God punishing Man with death for “sinning” by why bacteria or plants or animals. Are they sinners to? Universal death of all living things is only necessary for natural selection to achieve greater complexity but is unnecessary to divine creation where it is explained as punishment for the “sin” of self awareness.