Many people, if asked whether they think that humans are an integral part of the animal food chain, would respond by just saying that humans are at the top of the food chain. Although this answer is adequate, it doesn’t really address the complexity of human interaction within the food chain or the effects that humans have on the food chains of other living organisms.

The first thing to know about human life within the food chain, is that we are omnivores. We consume both plant and animal forms of food.I found some more information here. We are also defined as apex predators, because we can prey on other animals that occupy the upper tiers of the food chain. However, we may also be consumed as food by other apex predators, even though we are not considered natural food sources for these animals. We could, and sometimes do become a meal for larger carnivorous or omnivorous animals, such as bears or sharks. The jury is still out on whether apex predators eating each other truly constitute part of the food chain, since this is not a common occurence. Humans, like all other forms of life, are consumed by decomposing organisms, such as bacteria, when they die.

A food chain, or more accurately, food web is created when one living organism feeds upon another, but humans affect the food chains of other organismss in many ways, other than by eating them. Many human activities affect the environments in which other organisms live, thereby changing factors that may affect food chains.

The use of pesticides and other chemicals that change the environment can alter, mutate or even break food chains. Activities, like hunting, logging, mining or commmercial fishing can eradicate or mutate specific organisms or even eliminate entire species. These processes may also affect geographical movements of populations or create other environmental effects that may cause organisms to seek alternative food sources.