Question

State whether the following statement is true or false:

Generally, a larger human population could be maintained on the same amount of cultivated land if people ate more plants rather than animals.

Answer 1

This statement is true.

Explanation:

It is because energy transfer efficiency between trophic levels is low, with significant energy loss when energy passes from plants (producers) to herbivores and then to carnivores. Eating plants directly uses energy more efficiently, enabling more people to be fed with the same land area. Hence, more biomass and calories are available to humans when they consume plants over animals.