IN THIS CHAPTER
You will learn about:
- Food and its importance
- Food from plants
- Food from animals
- Food of animals
- Food Habits of People
BECACONS OF SCIENCE M.S. Swaminarayan is knows as the 'Father of Green Revolution in India'. He is a renowned agricultural scientist. He also served as the Director General of the International Rice Research Institute,Manila.
Food,water and air are the basic requirements of all living beings for survival. Food helps us in many ways.
1- Food helps in growth and repair of worn out tissues.
2- It protects us from various diseases.
3- The energy required for various activities is provided by food.
There is a large variety of food that we eat. Where do we get our food from ? We get all our food from two sources: **plants **and animals
FOOD FROM PLANTS
Most of our food is derived from plants. You have already learnt that green plants prepare their own food. So,they are known as autotrophs(auto means 'self' and troph means food'). Plants use sunlight,air (carbon dioxide), water and chlorophyll (green substance in their leaves )to prepare their food by the process of photosynthesis. The following equation represents the process of photosynthesis.
Carbon dioxide+ water - Sunlight-Chlorophyll -Food (starch) + Oxygen
The food prepared by plants is in the form of starch of sugar. This starch is used to carry on their life processes and the remaining amount is stored in the different parts such as leaves,roots,stems,seeds and fruits. These parts of the plants are eaten by us as food.
# INFO ZONE
About 150 billion tonnes of sugar is produced by all the plants o the world each year by photosynthesis.
Carbohydrates is the main nutrient that we eat food such as bread,rice and potatoes. When we eat fruits,cakes or anything else which is sweet,the sweetness comes from sugar made during photosynthesis.
Let is study some foods that Coen from plants.
Cereals: Cereals constitute the most important part of our food because they fulfil most of our energy requirements. The word cereal derives from Ceres, the name of the Roman goddess of Harvest and agriculture. The main cereals are rice,wheat,maize, sorghum (Jowar), barley (jau),and millet (Bajra). The Cereals are rich sources of carbohydrates. They provide energy to our body.
Pulses: Pulses which are rich in proteins are important part of our food because proteins are very important and necessary for the growth of our body. The main pulses are gram (chana), pigeon pea (arhar), black gram(head),lentil (Mansoor),pea, and soyabean.
**INFO ZONE **
Maize is the second maost important crop around the world ,after wheat. Rice is the third. The Crown belt of the USA grows 40% of the world's maize. India is the second largest producer of wheat.
Fruits: Fruits are an important source of vitamins and minerals. These protect us from diseases. Some of the common fruits are apple,banana,mango, orange,grapes,papaya, guava,apricot,peach, lithic etc.
Vegetables: Like fruits, vegetables are also rich in vitamins and minerals. Fresh and green vegetables keep us healthy and protect,tomato, cabbage, spinach,carrot, cauliflower,brinjal, cucumber,bottle gourd,bitter gourd, and lady's finger.
"Vegetable" is a non-scientific, all inclusive term what actually happens is that different parts of plants are eaten as vegetables.
In the following table, vegetables and their edible parts are mentioned.
Vegetable Monster
The world's largest vegetable is pumpkin. It can be as heavy as 480 kilograms!
Vegetables Parts
Cauliflower - Flower
Tomato - Fruit
Potato -Stem
Lady's finger - Fruit
Brinjal - Fruit
Cabbage - Leaves
Ginger - Root
Cucumber - Fruit
Radish - Stem
Onion - Stem
Spinach - Leaves
Sugar: Sugarcane an d sugar beet ae the sources of sugar. Sugarcane is a type of grass with body stems i.e 2-5 m tall. Sugar beet is a turnip like plant that grows in temperate countries. Sugar juice from sugarcane and sugar beet is boiled to evaporate water and thus suagr crystal are formed.
Spices: Spices make food tasty and add a special flavour to food. Some spices also have medicianl value. Some of the important spices are ginger, coriander,clove,cardamom,thyme,cumin,fenugreek,nutmeg,fennel,turmeric,and black pepper.
Oils We use oils for cooking many food items. They are rich in fats. However, excessive use of oils is not good for our health. They cause obesity. Plus is obtained from seeds of plants like mustard, groundnut, sunflower, coconut and soyabean.
Beverages: Tea and coffee are the chief beverages. Tea is produced from the leaves o the evergreen tea plant that grows in the tropical countries like India, Sri Lanka and China. It is the 'queen of beverages' because it is the most widely used and a popular hot beverage in the world.
We get coffee from the coffee beans grown in tropical countries.
FOOD FROM ANIMALS
Milk,eggs, meat, chicken, fish, prawns and honey etc. All come from animals. In ancient times, animals were the main Sources of food.
Now lets study about some food products derived from animals.
Milk: Milk is produced by animals such as cow, buffalo and goat. People in deserts drink camel's milk. In cold places, people mostly have yak's milk. Animals that give us milk are called milch animals.
Milk is called a'complete food ' because it contains all the nutrients. It is a rich source of proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Cheese ,paneer, butter, ghee, curd and sweets are milk products.
Eggs: We get eggs from hens, fowls, ducks and geese. These birds are reared in poultry farms. Eggs are rich in proteins.
A programme to increase the production of eggs has been launched by the Indian Government. This programme is called the 'Silver Revolution'.
Meat: Goat, sheep, chicken and duck provide meat. Many people also love to eat fish and prawns. Rohu, Label, chikka and oori are some important fresh-water fish. Sea-water fish like salmon, pomfret, halibut, tuna, cod and eel are also consumed by people. Fish are also a rich source of proteins.
Pisciculture: is the rearing of fish on a large scale in artificial tanks.
Honey: Honey is a sweet liquid made by bees from the nectar (sweet juices) of flowers. Honey is collected from beehives.
Honey is a nutritious food with medicinal value. IT can also be used in cooking. It is used to treat cough and cold.
Apiculture is the rearing of bees for producing honey on a large scale.
**Oils **: Fats of some animals like fish are used as oils. These oils have great medicinal value as they contain omega 3 fatty acids. Cod liver oil is used in many medicines.
WHAT DO ANIMALS EAT?
Do you eat the same food all the time? Just as all of us do not eat the same kind of food, animals can be divided into three main groups: Herbivores, Carnivores and Omnivores.
Herbivores: Animals that feed on only palnts products are called Herbivores (herb' mean 'plant'). Some examples of Herbivores are cow horse deer etc. Some insects such as bees, butterflies and moths are also Herbivores as they feed on the leaves and flowers.
Carnivores: Animals that feed on the flesh of other animals are called carnivores (' carni' means 'meat'). Some examples of carnivores are lion,tiger cheetah, frog , snake, etc.
Omnivores: Animals that feed on both plants and flesh of other animals are called Omnivores. Dogs, cat, ant, crow, sparrow and human beings are common examples of Omnivores.
A dog eats bread, rice and meat. A bear loves to eat honey as well as fish. Human beings eat almost all edible things.
FOOD HABITS OF PEOPLE
Many factors such as climatic conditions growth and availability of crop play an important role in developing food habits of people
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