Many plants and plant parts are eaten as food and around 2000 plant species are cultivated for food. Many of these plant have several distinct cultivars.

Seeds of plants are a good sources of food for animals and humans because they contain the nutrients necessary for the plant's initial growth, including many healthful fats, such as omegafats. In fact, the majority of food consumed by human beings are seed-based food. Edible seeds include cereals (corn, wheat, rice) legumes (beans, peas) and nuts. Oilseeds are often pressed to produce rich oils (sunflower, sesame)

Fruits are the ripened ovaries of plants including the seeds within. Fruits make up significant part of the diets of most cultures. Some botanical fruits, such as tomatoes, pumpkins and eggplants as vegetables.

Vegetables are a second type of plant matter that is commonly eaten as food. These include root vegetables (potatoes, carrots) bulbs (onion family), leaf vegetables (spinach, lettuce), stem vegetables (bamboo shoots, asparagus), and inflorescence vegetables (globe artichokes, broccoli)and other vegetables such as cabbage or cauliflower.

Animals are used as food either directly or indirectly by the products they produce. Meat is an example of a direct product taken from an animal, which comes from muscle system or from organs.

Food products produced by animals include milk produced by mammary glands, which in many cultures is drunk or processed into dairy products (cheese, butter). In additional, birds and other animals lay eggs, which often eaten, and bees produce honey, a reduced nectar from flower which is popular sweetener in many cultures. Some cultuers consume blood sometimes in the form of blood sausage, as a thickener for sauces, or in a cured, salted form for times of food scarcity and others use blood in stew such as jugged hare.