The component that we consume, which provides nourishment to the body, is called food. All living beings need food.
Food is needed by all living beings for four main purposes:
- for their growth.
- to provide energy for doing work.
- for the repair and replacement of the damaged tissues.
- to provide resistance and protection against diseases from infections.
- Different people have different choices of food. There is a wide range of food items eat across various states of India. Different organisms eat different kinds of food. Our food comes from different sources. We get food from plants as well as animals. We eat animals as meat as well as their different products like milk, eggs and honey.
Food Materials and Sources- Food and its sources:-
➢ Plants
▪ Roots, Leaves, Stems, Fruits, Seeds, Flowers
➢ Animals
▪ Milk, Meat, Fish, Poultry, Eggs
Plant Parts and Animal Products as Food
- Plants act as sources of food ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses
etc. - Animals are sources of food ingredients such as milk, eggs, meat products etc.
- Some examples of edible plant parts are given below:
➢ Roots: beets, carrots, radishes, turnips, ginger
➢ Stems: broccoli stem, bamboo shoots, sugar cane, potato
➢ Leaves: spinach, lettuce etc.
➢ Fruits: apple, pear, tomatoes, grapes, cherries, oranges
➢ Edible Flowers: broccoli heads, cauliflower heads
➢ Seeds: sunflower seeds
What do Animals Eat?- Food Habits- The method of eating or choices of food followed by living organisms is called as food habit.
Example: A rabbit eats grass or plant-based food.
- Animals can be classified into three broad categories in terms of what they eat –
➢ Herbivores
▪ Animals which feed on plants are called herbivores.
▪ Examples: Cows, goats, deer, giraffe etc.
➢ Carnivores
▪ Animals which feed on other animals are called carnivores.
▪ Examples: Lions, tigers, vultures etc.
➢ Omnivores
▪ Animals which feed on both plants and other animals are called
omnivores.
▪ Examples: Bears. They feed on flesh as well as honey
Key Words
- Nectar: The juicy sweet liquid secreted by within flowers which is sucked by bees and is made into honey by them
