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Asked by anon-241492 to Ross on 11 Mar 2020. This question was also asked by anon-241491.
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Ross Alexander answered on 11 Mar 2020: last edited 11 Mar 2020 8:35 pm
I totally misread this question and answered it about plants. What an idiot. Martins answer is much much better.
To grow plants need water / sunlight and nutrients from the soil. There are 13 essential nutrients d plants need them all in varying amounts. the 3 that plants need the most are nitrogen / phosphorus and potassium. Next time you go to a garden centre have a look at the fertilisers there. It will be say NPK on it which is those three nutrients.
They then use these nutrients to make there own proteins (mainly nitrogen). Plants make their own carbohydrates via photosynthesis. They convert water and CO2 with help from the sun into glucose. Glucose can then be converted to bigger molecules like starch or cellulose.
If they miss any of these things they get sick / if a plant is missing one of these nutrients and we eat that, then we get sick too
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Martin commented on :
On the level of basic nutrients, yes, other animals will need about the same kinds of stuff (proteins, carbohydrates, fats, water, vitamins, minerals) that humans do. After all, we’re animals too.
However, when we zoom out to look at what different animals consider foodstuff, it can be very different! Look at a cat, for example, they pretty much only eat the meat of other animals. Or look at a cow or a sheep, which eats plant matter that humans can’t digest. There are differences in what kinds of compounds different animals can produce for themselves from other molecules, and which they absolutely need to get from their food. In the case of cows and sheep, for example, they have help of special bacteria in their rumen, which help them digest tough plant matter.