A food chain always starts with a producer. A producer is an organism that makes its own food. Most food chains start with a green plant, because plants make their own food by... Food chain explained for kids with parts, types, examples, and a simple diagram . Learn how energy flows through its different levels. A food web consists by a complex network of interconnected food chains that represent the direction of the flow of energy and nutrients among various organisms in an ecosystem. In a field with many green plants, a food chain begins. First, insects eat the plants. Then, rats eat the insects. After that, snakes eat the rats, and birds eat the snakes. When the birds die, decomposers break them down. This shows how each living thing relies on another for food.