The potato belongs to the vegetable group, starchy vegetables subgroup and this is how it appears in the new food pyramid. In the old pyramid, potatoes belonged to the starch group. Now they are re-classified and placed in their rightful group, vegetables.

Potatoes fall into the starchy vegetable category alongside green peas and corn. Along with fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, potatoes are a source of starchy carbohydrate.

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) in Washington, DC, offers this answer: Since they are good sources of vitamin C and potassium, potatoes are more like vegetables than grain products, which is why the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Guide Pyramid groups potatoes with vegetables.

According to 10 percent law, 90% of the energy captured from the previous trophic level is lost as heat to the environment and only 10 percent is made available to the next trophic level.

Ten PerCent Law – According to ten per cent law only 10 per cent of the energy entering a particular trophic level of organisms is available for transfer to the next higher trophic level. Example – Suppose 1000 Joules of light energy emitted by the sun falls on the plants.

Ten Percent (10%) Law: Ten percent law for transfer of energy from one trophic level to the next was introduced by Lindeman (1942). According to this law, during the transfer of energy from organic food from one trophic level to the next, only about ten percent of the of energy from organic matter is stored as flesh.

Raymond Lindeman

Reymond Lindeman gave ten per cent of energy transfer law or Lindeman’s trophic efficiency rule in food chains. The 10 per cent energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next successive trophic level according to this rule. During energy transfer and respiration, the majority of the energy is lost.