Editing Food (section)

===Plants===
[[File:Foods (cropped).jpg|thumb|Foods from plant sources]]

[[Edible plants|Plants as a food source]] are divided into seeds, fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains and nuts.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Fardet |first=Anthony |chapter-url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780128039687000162 |chapter=New Concepts and Paradigms for the Protective Effects of Plant-Based Food Components in Relation to Food Complexity |title=Vegetarian and Plant-Based Diets in Health and Disease Prevention |publisher=Elsevier |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-12-803968-7 |pages=293–312 |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-803968-7.00016-2 |access-date=12 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615171216/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780128039687000162 |archive-date=15 June 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> Where plants fall within these categories can vary, with botanically described fruits such as the tomato, squash, pepper and eggplant or seeds like peas commonly considered vegetables.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAQs |url=https://vric.ucdavis.edu/main/faqs.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321204323/https://vric.ucdavis.edu/main/faqs.htm |archive-date=21 March 2021 |access-date=12 April 2022 |website=vric.ucdavis.edu}}</ref> Food is a fruit if the part eaten is derived from the [[Ovary (botany)|reproductive tissue]], so seeds, nuts and grains are technically fruit.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nuts |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ethnobotany/food/nuts.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227192329/https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ethnobotany/food/nuts.shtml |archive-date=27 February 2022 |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=fs.fed.us}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Chodosh |first=Sara |date=8 July 2021 |title=The bizarre botany that makes corn a fruit, a grain, and also (kind of) a vegetable |url=https://www.popsci.com/is-corn-fruit-vegetable-or-grain/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409102623/https://www.popsci.com/is-corn-fruit-vegetable-or-grain/ |archive-date=9 April 2022 |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=Popular Science |language=en-US}}</ref> From a culinary perspective, fruits are generally considered the remains of botanically described fruits after grains, nuts, seeds and fruits used as vegetables are removed.<ref name=":8" /> Grains can be defined as seeds that humans eat or harvest, with cereal grains (oats, wheat, rice, corn, barley, rye, sorghum and millet) belonging to the [[Poaceae]] (grass) family<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomson |first=Julie |date=13 June 2017 |title=Quinoa's 'Seed Or Grain' Debate Ends Right Here |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/quinoa-is-not-a-grain_n_59380558e4b0aba888ba7b44 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415223356/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/quinoa-is-not-a-grain_n_59380558e4b0aba888ba7b44 |archive-date=15 April 2022 |access-date=15 April 2022 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref> and pulses coming from the [[Fabaceae]] (legume) family.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 October 2019 |title=Legumes and Pulses |url=https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/legumes-pulses/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421110226/https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/legumes-pulses/ |archive-date=21 April 2022 |access-date=15 April 2022 |website=The Nutrition Source |language=en-us}}</ref> [[Whole grain]]s are foods that contain all the elements of the original seed (bran, germ, and [[endosperm]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of a Whole Grain {{!}} The Whole Grains Council |url=https://wholegrainscouncil.org/definition-whole-grain |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131090217/https://wholegrainscouncil.org/definition-whole-grain |archive-date=31 January 2022 |access-date=15 April 2022 |website=wholegrainscouncil.org}}</ref> Nuts are dry fruits, distinguishable by their woody shell.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Rejman |first1=Krystyna |last2=Górska-Warsewicz |first2=Hanna |last3=Kaczorowska |first3=Joanna |last4=Laskowski |first4=Wacław |date=17 June 2021 |title=Nutritional Significance of Fruit and Fruit Products in the Average Polish Diet |journal=Nutrients |language=en |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=2079 |doi=10.3390/nu13062079 |issn=2072-6643 |pmc=8235518 |pmid=34204541 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Fleshy fruits (distinguishable from dry fruits like grain, seeds and nuts) can be further classified as [[stone fruits]] (cherries and peaches), [[Pome|pome fruits]] (apples, pears), [[Berry|berries]] (blackberry, strawberry), [[citrus]] (oranges, lemon), [[melon]]s (watermelon, cantaloupe), Mediterranean fruits (grapes, fig), [[tropical fruits]] (banana, pineapple).<ref name=":8" /> Vegetables refer to any other part of the plant that can be eaten, including roots, stems, leaves, flowers, bark or the entire plant itself.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Vegetables: Foods from Roots, Stems, Bark, and Leaves |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ethnobotany/food/vegetables.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417035414/https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/ethnobotany/food/vegetables.shtml |archive-date=17 April 2022 |access-date=12 April 2022 |website=U.S. Forest Service}}</ref> These include [[root vegetable]]s (potatoes and carrots), bulbs (onion family), flowers (cauliflower and broccoli), [[leaf vegetable]]s ([[spinach]] and lettuce) and [[:Category:Stem vegetables|stem vegetables]] (celery and [[asparagus]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vegetable Classifications |url=https://www.vegetables.co.nz/tips-and-advice/vegetable-classifications/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204223932/https://www.vegetables.co.nz/tips-and-advice/vegetable-classifications/ |archive-date=4 February 2022 |access-date=12 April 2022 |website=Vegetables |language=en-NZ}}</ref><ref name=":4" />

The carbohydrate, protein and lipid content of plants is highly variable. Carbohydrates are mainly in the form of starch, fructose, glucose and other sugars.<ref name=":0" /> Most vitamins are found from plant sources, with the exception of [[vitamin D]] and [[Vitamin B12|vitamin B<sub>12</sub>]]. [[Mineral (nutrient)|Minerals]] can also be plentiful or not. Fruit can consist of up to 90% water, contain high levels of [[simple sugars]] that contribute to their sweet taste, and have a high [[vitamin C]] content.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":8" /> Compared to fleshy fruit (excepting Bananas) vegetables are high in starch,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Slavin |first1=Joanne L. |last2=Lloyd |first2=Beate |date=1 July 2012 |title=Health Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables |journal=Advances in Nutrition |language=en |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=506–516 |doi=10.3945/an.112.002154 |issn=2156-5376 |pmc=3649719 |pmid=22797986}}</ref> [[potassium]], dietary fiber, [[folate]] and vitamins and low in fat and calories.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vegetables |url=https://www.myplate.gov/eat-healthy/vegetables |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417195851/https://www.myplate.gov/eat-healthy/vegetables |archive-date=17 April 2022 |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=myplate.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture}}</ref> Grains are more starch based<ref name=":0" /> and nuts have a high protein, fiber, vitamin E and B content.<ref name=":8" /> Seeds are a good source of food for animals because they are abundant and contain fiber and healthful fats, such as [[Omega-3|omega-3 fats]].<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The nutrition powerhouse we should eat more of |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/seeds |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412185742/https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/seeds |archive-date=12 April 2022 |access-date=12 April 2022 |website=BBC Food |language=en}}</ref> Complicated chemical interactions can enhance or depress bioavailability of certain nutrients. [[Phytates]] can prevent the release of some sugars and vitamins.<ref name=":0" />

Animals that only eat plants are called [[herbivore]]s, with those that mostly just eat fruits known as [[frugivore]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kanchwala |first=Hussain |date=21 March 2019 |title=What Are Frugivores? |url=https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/animals/what-are-frugivores.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516032821/https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/animals/what-are-frugivores.html |archive-date=16 May 2022 |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=Science ABC |language=en-US}}</ref> while leaf and shoot eaters are [[folivore]]s (pandas) and wood eaters termed [[Xylophagy|xylophages]] (termites).<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 January 2011 |title=Herbivore |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/herbivore/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408191803/https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/herbivore/ |archive-date=8 April 2022 |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=National Geographic Society |language=en}}</ref> [[Frugivore]]s include a diverse range of species from annelids to elephants, chimpanzees and many birds.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hagen |first1=Melanie |last2=Kissling |first2=W. Daniel |last3=Rasmussen |first3=Claus |last4=De Aguiar |first4=Marcus A.M. |last5=Brown |first5=Lee E. |last6=Carstensen |first6=Daniel W. |last7=Alves-Dos-Santos |first7=Isabel |last8=Dupont |first8=Yoko L. |last9=Edwards |first9=Francois K. |year=2012 |title=Biodiversity, Species Interactions and Ecological Networks in a Fragmented World |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780123969927000022 |url-status=live |journal=Advances in Ecological Research |language=en |publisher=Elsevier |volume=46 |pages=89–210 |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-396992-7.00002-2 |isbn=978-0-12-396992-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504154918/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780123969927000022 |archive-date=4 May 2022 |access-date=17 April 2022|hdl=10261/64172 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Scanes |first=Colin G. |chapter-url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780128052471000058 |chapter=Animals and Hominid Development |title=Animals and Human Society |publisher=Elsevier |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-12-805247-1 |pages=83–102 |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-805247-1.00005-8 |access-date=17 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609185730/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780128052471000058 |archive-date=9 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fleming |first=Theodore H. |chapter-url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780080918815500153 |chapter=How Do Fruit- and Nectar-Feeding Birds and Mammals Track Their Food Resources? |title=Effects of Resource Distribution on Animal–Plant Interactions |publisher=Elsevier |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-12-361955-6 |pages=355–391 |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-08-091881-5.50015-3 |access-date=17 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525180952/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780080918815500153 |archive-date=25 May 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> About 182 fish consume seeds or fruit.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Correa |first1=Sandra Bibiana |last2=Winemiller |first2=Kirk O. |last3=LóPez-Fernández |first3=Hernán |last4=Galetti |first4=Mauro |date=1 October 2007 |title=Evolutionary Perspectives on Seed Consumption and Dispersal by Fishes |journal=BioScience |volume=57 |issue=9 |pages=748–756 |doi=10.1641/B570907 |issn=0006-3568 |doi-access=free |s2cid=13869429}}</ref> Animals (domesticated and wild) use as many types of grasses that have adapted to different locations as their main source of nutrients.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 May 2009 |title=Describe the utilization of grass in forage-livestock systems. |url=https://forages.oregonstate.edu/nfgc/eo/onlineforagecurriculum/instructormaterials/availabletopics/grasses/utilization |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123212853/https://forages.oregonstate.edu/nfgc/eo/onlineforagecurriculum/instructormaterials/availabletopics/grasses/utilization |archive-date=23 January 2022 |access-date=12 April 2022 |website=Forage Information System |language=en}}</ref>

Humans eat thousands of plant species; there may be as many as 75,000 edible species of [[angiosperm]]s, of which perhaps 7,000 are often eaten.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Şerban |first1=Procheş |last2=Wilson |first2=John R. U. |last3=Vamosi |first3=Jana C. |last4=Richardson |first4=David M. |title=Plant Diversity in the Human Diet: Weak Phylogenetic Signal Indicates Breadth |journal=BioScience |date=1 February 2008 |volume=58 |issue=2 |pages=151–159 |doi=10.1641/B580209 |s2cid=86483332 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Plants can be processed into breads, pasta, cereals, juices and jams or raw ingredients such as sugar, herbs, spices and oils can be extracted.<ref name=":0" /> [[Oilseed]]s are pressed to produce rich oils{{snd}}⁣[[Sunflower oil|sunflower]], [[flaxseed]], [[rapeseed]] (including [[canola oil]]) and [[Sesame oil|sesame]].<ref name="McGee9">McGee, Chapter 9.</ref>

Many plants and animals have [[coevolution|coevolved]] in such a way that the fruit is a good source of nutrition for the animal, who then excretes the seeds some distance away, allowing greater dispersal.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eriksson |first=Ove |date=20 December 2014 |title=Evolution of angiosperm seed disperser mutualisms: the timing of origins and their consequences for coevolutionary interactions between angiosperms and frugivores |journal=Biological Reviews |volume=91 |issue=1 |pages=168–186 |doi=10.1111/brv.12164 |pmid=25530412 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Even [[seed predation]] can be mutually beneficial, as some seeds can survive the digestion process.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Heleno |first1=Ruben H. |last2=Ross |first2=Georgina |last3=Everard |first3=Amy |last4=Memmott |first4=Jane |last5=Ramos |first5=Jaime A. |year=2011 |title=The role of avian 'seed predators' as seed dispersers: Seed predators as seed dispersers |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2010.01088.x |url-status=live |journal=Ibis |language=en |volume=153 |issue=1 |pages=199–203 |doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.2010.01088.x |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415211542/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2010.01088.x |archive-date=15 April 2022 |access-date=15 April 2022 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10316/41308}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spengler |first=Robert N. |date=1 April 2020 |title=Anthropogenic Seed Dispersal: Rethinking the Origins of Plant Domestication |journal=Trends in Plant Science |language=English |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=340–348 |doi=10.1016/j.tplants.2020.01.005 |issn=1360-1385 |pmid=32191870 |doi-access=free |s2cid=213192873|hdl=21.11116/0000-0005-C7E0-D |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Insects are major eaters of seeds,<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Lundgren |first1=Jonathan G. |last2=Rosentrater |first2=Kurt A. |date=13 September 2007 |title=The strength of seeds and their destruction by granivorous insects |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11829-007-9008-1 |url-status=live |journal=Arthropod-Plant Interactions |language=en |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=93–99 |doi=10.1007/s11829-007-9008-1 |bibcode=2007APInt...1...93L |issn=1872-8855 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730073225/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11829-007-9008-1 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |access-date=15 April 2022 |s2cid=6410974}}</ref> with ants being the only real seed dispersers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Simms |first=Ellen L. |chapter-url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0122268652003400 |chapter=Plant-Animal Interactions |date=1 January 2001 |title=Encyclopedia of Biodiversity |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-12-226865-6 |editor-last=Levin |editor-first=Simon Asher |location=New York |pages=601–619 |language=en |doi=10.1016/b0-12-226865-2/00340-0 |access-date=15 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415002125/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0122268652003400 |archive-date=15 April 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> Birds, although being major dispersers,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Godínez-Alvarez |first1=Héctor |last2=Ríos-Casanova |first2=Leticia |last3=Peco |first3=Begoña |year=2020 |title=Are large frugivorous birds better seed dispersers than medium- and small-sized ones? Effect of body mass on seed dispersal effectiveness |journal=Ecology and Evolution |language=en |volume=10 |issue=12 |pages=6136–6143 |doi=10.1002/ece3.6285 |issn=2045-7758 |pmc=7319144 |pmid=32607219|bibcode=2020EcoEv..10.6136G }}</ref> only rarely eat seeds as a source of food and can be identified by their thick beak that is used to crack open the seed coat.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jennings |first=Elizabeth |date=15 November 2019 |title=How Much Seed Do Birds Eat In a Day? |url=https://sciencing.com/much-do-birds-eat-day-7435152.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112012432/https://sciencing.com/much-do-birds-eat-day-7435152.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=Sciencing |language=en}}</ref> Mammals eat a more diverse range of seeds, as they are able to crush harder and larger seeds with their teeth.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carpenter |first1=Joanna K. |last2=Wilmshurst |first2=Janet M. |last3=McConkey |first3=Kim R. |last4=Hume |first4=Julian P. |last5=Wotton |first5=Debra M. |last6=Shiels |first6=Aaron B. |last7=Burge |first7=Olivia R. |last8=Drake |first8=Donald R. |year=2020 |editor-last=Barton |editor-first=Kasey |title=The forgotten fauna: Native vertebrate seed predators on islands |journal=Functional Ecology |language=en |volume=34 |issue=9 |pages=1802–1813 |doi=10.1111/1365-2435.13629 |bibcode=2020FuEco..34.1802C |issn=0269-8463 |s2cid=225292938|doi-access=free }}</ref>