--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Animals are not always struggling for…" description: "\"“Animals are not always struggling for existence, but when they do begin, they spend the greater part of their lives eating … Food is the burning quest..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/william-stolzenburg-45139_animal_animals-are-not-always-struggling-for-ex_65530.jpg" --- # Animals are not always struggling for existence, but when… ![“Animals are not always struggling for existence, but when they do begin, they spend the greater part of their lives eating … Food is the burning question in animal society, and the whole structure and activities of the community are dependent upon questions of food-supply.” quote by William Stolzenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/william-stolzenburg-45139_animal_animals-are-not-always-struggling-for-ex_65530.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/william-stolzenburg-45139_animal_animals-are-not-always-struggling-for-ex_65530.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/william-stolzenburg-45139_animal_animals-are-not-always-struggling-for-ex_65530.jpg) > ““Animals are not always struggling for existence, but when they do begin, they spend the greater part of their lives eating … Food is the burning question in animal society, and the whole structure and activities of the community are dependent upon questions of food-supply.”” [William Stolzenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stolzenburg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Animals prioritize food acquisition; their social organization and daily activities revolve around securing nourishment. **In simple terms:** Food drives animal behavior Key Takeaway Survival hinges on resource access Themes resource competition social structure ecology survival strategies energy budgeting Mood pragmatic observational analytical Type observation theory When to use this quote - wildlife management - conservation planning - zoological research - ecosystem modeling - behavioral observation Key Concepts foraging hierarchy population dynamics habitat utilization Practical Applications - designing wildlife corridors - optimizing livestock feeding regimes Questions to Reflect On - How does food scarcity reshape social hierarchies? - What mechanisms do animals use to mitigate competition for resources? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [ I'm an ambassador for Best Friends \[Animal Society\], an incredible organization that's devoted to the welfare of animals - in particular, trying to help… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-fabian/i-m-an-ambassador-for-best-friends-animal-society-an-incredible/) [Patrick Fabian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-fabian/) > [I approach my character with the question: What would an animal think? How would an animal respond? A lot of times, it's quick action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-pratt/i-approach-my-character-with-the-question-what-would-an-animal-think/) [Victoria Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-pratt/) > ['Why' is a question no animal can ask, because both the question and answers require speech. Have you ever seen an animal shrug?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/why-is-a-question-no-animal-can-ask-because-both-the-question-and/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [Being asked what animal you'd like to be is a trick question; you're already an animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/being-asked-what-animal-you-d-like-to-be-is-a-trick-question-you-re/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Donald Griffin’s The Question of Animal Awareness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-moussaieff-masson/donald-griffin-s-the-question-of-animal-awareness/) [Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-moussaieff-masson/) > [Getting bored in class: sneakily eating food while trying to hide it from your friends and the teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/getting-bored-in-class-sneakily-eating-food-while-trying-to-hide-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do no talk while eating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/do-no-talk-while-eating/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [I have a two-year-old at home, and my whole life is - besides revolved around keeping this little person alive, just watching them on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemarie-dewitt/i-have-a-two-year-old-at-home-and-my-whole-life-is-besides-revolved/) [Rosemarie DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemarie-dewitt/) > [So you can settle the fuck down. My mother used to say, "Primero comemos, entonces lo demás." That means, "first we eat, then we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-yorkey/so-you-can-settle-the-fuck-down-my-mother-used-to-say-primero-comemos/) Brian Yorkey > [gastronomy is and always has been connected with its sister art of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher/gastronomy-is-and-always-has-been-connected-with-its-sister-art-of/) [M. F. K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher/) > [Food is neither your enemy nor your best friend. It won't mend your broken heart and it won't send you to hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emme/food-is-neither-your-enemy-nor-your-best-friend-it-won-t-mend-your/) [Emme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emme/) > [The people who give you their food give you their heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/the-people-who-give-you-their-food-give-you-their-heart/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [They say FALLING IN LOVE is GOOD, But I think EATING FOOD is VERY GOOD!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhoni13/they-say-falling-in-love-is-good-but-i-think-eating-food-is-very-good/) Jhoni13 > [The only good things about life are 1. Sex 2. Sleep 3. Music 4. Alcohol 5. Hot Showers 6. Hanging with friends 7 Watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/the-only-good-things-about-life-are-1-sex-2-sleep-3-music-4-alcohol-5/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) ## More by William Stolzenburg > [“It is a maxim among carnivore biologists that the main reason big predators now die is because people kill them. People run them over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stolzenburg/it-is-a-maxim-among-carnivore-biologists-that-the-main-reason-big/) [William Stolzenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stolzenburg/) > [“One never sleepwalks through grizzlyland, dreaming of other places to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stolzenburg/one-never-sleepwalks-through-grizzlyland-dreaming-of-other-places-to/) [William Stolzenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stolzenburg/) > [“It was simple enough: Plants eat sunlight, herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat herbivores, “and so on,” he wrote, “until we reach an animal which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stolzenburg/it-was-simple-enough-plants-eat-sunlight-herbivores-eat-plants/) [William Stolzenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stolzenburg/) > [“It is the phenomenon made known by the marine biologist Daniel Pauly as the shifting-baseline syndrome. The world as first seen by the child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stolzenburg/it-is-the-phenomenon-made-known-by-the-marine-biologist-daniel-pauly/) [William Stolzenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stolzenburg/) > [“In conquering the fearsome beasts, the conquerors had unwittingly orphaned themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stolzenburg/in-conquering-the-fearsome-beasts-the-conquerors-had-unwittingly/) [William Stolzenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stolzenburg/) > [“In the hurtling pronghorn, the vanished predators have left behind a heartrending spectacle. 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As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Animals are not always struggling for existence, but when they do begin, they spend the greater part of their lives eating … Food is the burning question in animal society, and the whole structure and activities of the community are dependent upon questions of food-supply.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Stolzenburg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stolzenburg/animals-are-not-always-struggling-for-existence-but-when-they-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stolzenburg/animals-are-not-always-struggling-for-existence-but-when-they-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/william-stolzenburg-45139_animal_animals-are-not-always-struggling-for-ex_65530.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/william-stolzenburg-45139_animal_animals-are-not-always-struggling-for-ex_65530.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3eb/william-stolzenburg-45139_animal_animals-are-not-always-struggling-for-ex_65530.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Animals are not always struggling for existence, but when they do begin, they spend the greater part of…” — William Stolzenburg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Stolzenburg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stolzenburg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Animals are not always struggling for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stolzenburg/animals-are-not-always-struggling-for-existence-but-when-they-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stolzenburg/animals-are-not-always-struggling-for-existence-but-when-they-do/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```