the connection between photosynthesis and french fries

Fried potatoes... Yum. Not only is it one of the most delicious foods to have been invented, but it’s also full of energy (aka calories). But have you ever wondered how energy (aka calories) gets inside our food?

Let’s talk about it.

Energy is defined as the ability or capacity to do work. It’s what helps us get out of bed in the mornings, participate in our favorite activities, experience emotions.

One of the most famous laws of energy states that energy is neither created nor destroyed. Rather it can only be transformed.

As humans we cannot create our own energy, instead we rely on food as our energy source. But (going back to our initial question) how did the energy get inside our food?

All of the energy in the foods that we eat come from plants. Even animal products such as beef and eggs have energy stored in them because those animals consumed plants or other plant-eating animals for food and for energy.

Meaning that plants are where the magic happens.

Plants undergo a unique process called photosynthesis (you’ve probably heard of this), where the inedible energy from the sun’s light is transformed into edible energy in the form of food (pretty cool, right?).

If you’ve ever looked into how to grow a plant, you probably know they need water, soil, air, and sunshine to grow. Plants use these resources to create little packages of energy which they then use to grow and to thrive. As humans, we know these little packages of energy by their more common name: glucose.

This glucose is needed not only to help the plant grow and repair, but the plant can also store the glucose in bigger packages of energy which we more commonly know as carbohydrates or starches. Some examples of these carbohydrate rich foods that we eat include fruits, grains, and starchy vegetables.

The plant can also obtain nitrogen from the soil, combine it with glucose, and create amino acids which we find in proteins. This process is not as efficient as photosynthesis which is why many plant foods do not contain a high amount of protein. However, some plants are able to store the amino acids they make in specific parts of the plant, leading to a higher concentration of protein. These storage proteins are usually found in seeds and leguminous plants. This is why foods like nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes are considered good sources of protein.

Plants can also convert the glucose into lipids or fats. This usually occurs in the ripening process. Most fats that are created are stored in the seeds of the plants. Thus, foods like nuts and seeds are considered good sources of fats and are also commonly used by humans to make cooking oils such as grape seed oil, canola oil, olive oil, etc.

In summary, we have plants to thank for producing the carbohydrates, proteins, and fats that we eat. Each of those nutrients is made using the glucose that is produced from the energy of the sun. Those little packages of energy in the glucose are what provide us, as humans, with energy.

I hope this information was interesting or helpful for you, personally it was a good refresher for me.

Thank you for stopping by & go have yourself some french fries or tortilla española.

Bye for now :)

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P.S. I also made a similar video on this topic here if you prefer to watch and learn! I don’t mention french fries in the video but I do draw/paint a colorful-little picture.

photo by Mitchell Luo