We generally think of eating as the action of taking in food, which is appropriate for animals familiar to us, but does not apply to many other organisms that take in food.  The bacteria that decompose dead algae are examples especially relevant to the Sunrise Farm Pond pathway.  They have no mouth or digestive system, but they do have ways of taking in food.  (The mechanisms by which bacteria “take in” food are complicated; we do not address them here because they are beyond what elementary students have the background to understand.)  In this resource, we use the term “consume” when referring to organisms, like the bacteria, that take in food from their environment but don’t actually eat.  The obvious relationship to “consumer” may help students understand the biological meaning of this term.