Sources of Food Chapter Notes | Eureka Plus Class 6: Book Solutions, Notes & Worksheets PDF Download

Introduction

All living things require food to survive. While most plants create their own food through photosynthesis, animals acquire food from their environment. Food serves several important purposes for our bodies. It gives us the energy needed to perform tasks, supports growth, aids in the repair of damaged tissues, and helps maintain overall health.

• Energy Source: Food acts as fuel for our bodies, providing the energy required for various activities like walking, running, and even thinking.
• Growth: Food plays a crucial role in helping us grow, especially during childhood and adolescence. Nutrients from food support the development of bones, muscles, and organs.
• Repair and Maintenance: When our bodies get hurt or parts wear out, the nutrients in food assist in repairing and replacing damaged tissues. For example, after a cut, the body needs proteins and vitamins to heal the wound.
• Overall Health: Consuming a balanced diet ensures that our bodies receive essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, proteins, and carbohydrates, which are vital for maintaining good health. For instance, vitamin C in fruits helps boost our immune system.

Types of Food We Eat

• Food we consume comes from plants and animals.
• Nutrients in Food:
  • Food items contain nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins.
  • Nutrients are important for the growth and survival of living organisms.
  • Most food items have a mix of different nutrients.
• Example:
  • Spinach is a good example as it contains more than 15 different nutrients.

Food obtained from Plants

Food obtained from plants is essential for our nutrition. Plants create their own food through a process called photosynthesis, using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. They store this food in various parts like seeds, fruits, stems, leaves, flowers, and roots, which we can then consume.
Let's explore the different plant parts that serve as food sources:

Food from Seeds

• Seeds from various plants are consumed as food. Examples include cereals (grains), pulses, certain spices, and nuts. Some plants' seeds are also used to extract cooking oils. 
• Examples: Wheat, rice, maize, gram, mung (green gram), black pepper, cardamom, cashew, almond, walnut, groundnut, etc. 
• Food from seeds provides carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, vitamins, fibers, and fats (in the case of nuts and oilseeds).

Sprouts

• Sprouts are germinated seeds like mung, gram, and ragi which are rich in minerals, vitamins, and fiber. 
• They can be consumed raw.

Leaves

• Leaves from different plants are used as vegetables. 
• Some leaves like mint and coriander are also used as spices.

Stems

• Edible stems include potato, ginger, turmeric, sugar cane, and lotus stem. 
• Sugar cane juice is used to make sugar and jaggery while ginger and turmeric are common spices.

Bulbs

• Bulbs, which are underground stems, include edible ones like onion and garlic.

Flowers

• Flowers such as cauliflower, broccoli, banana flower, and certain others can be consumed as vegetables. 
• Some flowers like marigold, China flower, and rose are also edible.

Fruits

• Fruits are crucial in our diet. Some fruits like brinjals, cucumbers, and tomatoes are used as vegetables. 
• Ripe fruits are often sweet and can be eaten fresh or used to make juices, pickles, and jams.

Roots

• Roots like carrot, radish, beetroot, turnip, sweet potato, and yam are consumed, with carrot and radish often eaten raw. 

Food Obtained from Animals

Animals provide us with various types of food that we consume for nourishment.

Milk

• Milk is a common and essential food product obtained from animals like buffaloes, cows, goats, and even yaks in certain regions.
• Milk consists of sugar, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals that are beneficial for our health.
• From milk, we derive several food items such as paneer, cream, butter, ghee, cheese, curd, and buttermilk.

Honey

• Honey is a sweet substance produced by honeybees from flower nectar, stored in honeycombs, and used as their food source.
• Humans cultivate honeybees in man-made hives through a practice known as apiculture to collect honey for consumption.
• Honey is rich in sugar, minerals, and also possesses medicinal properties.

Eggs, Meat, Fish, and Seafood

• People consume a variety of animal products like meat from goats, sheep, chicken, fish, as well as eggs from hens and ducks.
• Seafood such as prawns, squids, and crabs are also popular food choices.
• These animal-based foods are good sources of proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals, but they lack vitamin C and fiber.

Edible Mushrooms

• Some types of mushrooms are safe to eat and provide proteins and even vitamin D.
• Mushrooms are categorized neither as animals nor plants; they belong to a distinct group known as fungi.

Food habits of some living things

In nature, different living things have specific food habits that determine what they eat. Animals rely on plants directly or indirectly for their food needs. These animals can be categorized into various groups based on their food habits, such as herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, scavengers, and decomposers.

Herbivores

• Herbivores are animals that primarily feed on plants, leaves, and tender vegetation.
• Examples include cows, buffaloes, deer, parrots, and butterflies.
• They have sharp cutting teeth in the front and flat, grinding teeth at the back to help them chew plant material efficiently.
• Some herbivores like parrots and pigeons eat seeds, while others like butterflies and bees feed on nectar from flowers.
• Caterpillars, which are the larvae of moths and butterflies, consume tender leaves.

Carnivores

• Carnivores are animals that exclusively eat other animals.
• Examples include snakes, lizards, spiders, lions, polar bears, killer whales, sharks, and eagles.
• They have specific body features that aid in catching and consuming their prey, such as sharp teeth, claws, or specialized hunting adaptations.
• For instance, the tiger has a powerful body, sharp teeth, and claws, while the shark is known for its tremendous swimming speed and sharp teeth for hunting large fish.
• Examples:
  • The parrot uses its strong, curved beak to crack open fruits and nuts to access seeds, which form a significant part of its diet.
  • The emperor penguin, with its streamlined body and flipper-like wings, is an excellent swimmer and feeds predominantly on fish.
  • An eagle, equipped with strong wings and talons, can soar high and hunt for prey efficiently.

Omnivores

• Animals that eat both plants and animals.
• Examples: Peacocks (snakes, garden lizards, eggs, frogs, insects, seeds, leaves), sparrows, foxes, black bears.

Scavengers

• Animals that primarily feed on the flesh of dead animals.
• Examples: Vultures, crabs.

Decomposers

• Organisms that break down dead plant and animal matter.
• Examples: Soil bacteria, mushrooms, soil fungi, dung beetles, earthworms.
• Role: Decomposers turn dead plants and animals into simple substances that enrich the soil, aiding in nutrient recycling and soil fertility.
• Importance: They are known as farmer's friends as they help in maintaining soil health and cleanliness by recycling nutrients.