Food Education

A food staple is a food that makes up the dominant part of a population’s diet. Food staples are eaten regularly—even daily—and supply a major proportion of a person’s energy and nutritional needs.

Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops and raising livestock.

To irrigate is to water crops by bringing in water from pipes, canals, sprinklers, or other man-made means, rather than relying on rainfall alone.

A crop is a plant or plant product that can be grown and harvested for profit or subsistence. By use, crops fall into six categories: food crops, feed crops, fiber crops, oil crops, ornamental crops, and industrial crops.

A diet is the combination of foods typically eaten by a specific group of people or other organisms.

Nutrients are chemical substances found in every living thing on Earth

Grain is the harvested seed of grasses such as wheat, oats, rice, and corn. Other important grains include sorghum, millet, rye, and barley.

Drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather when there is not enough rain.

An herbivore is an organism that feeds mostly on plants. Herbivores range in size from tiny insects such as aphids to large, lumbering elephants.

An omnivore is an organism that regularly consumes a variety of material, including plants, animals, algae, and fungi. They range in size from tiny insects like ants to large creatures—like people.

A carnivore is an organism that eats mostly meat, or the flesh of animals. Sometimes carnivores are called predators.

A scavenger is an organism that consumes mostly decaying biomass, such as meat or rotting plant matter.