What is the importance of carbon and its compounds in food?

To begin with, all the food that we eat, whether it is vegetables, fruits, grains or meat and all the beverages that we drink (such as milk, juices, soda, alcoholic beverages, etc.), are all carbon compounds. That is, organic compounds. The energy that we need to metabolize the food is also a product of metabolism of organic food material (through cellular respiration). The energy required to cook food is mostly available through fossil fuels (whether...

To begin with, all the food that we eat, whether it is vegetables, fruits, grains or meat and all the beverages that we drink (such as milk, juices, soda, alcoholic beverages, etc.), are all carbon compounds. That is, organic compounds. The energy that we need to metabolize the food is also a product of metabolism of organic food material (through cellular respiration). The energy required to cook food is mostly available through fossil fuels (whether directly or indirectly), such as coal, natural gas, etc. The energy required to grow, harvest, store and transport the food material also (mostly) comes from carbon-based fuels, such as coal, petrol, diesel, natural gas, etc. Thus, our food and its generation, consumption, and metabolism cycle is more or less carbon-dependent. 

Hope this helps.