Farming cattle for humans to eat is less efficient than farming crops because of energy transfer - AQA - A-Level Biology - Question 4 - 2022 - Paper 1

Farming cattle requires substantial energy for their growth and maintenance, which is much greater than that needed for producing crops. This energy loss occurs at various trophic levels—only about 10% of the energy from one trophic level is transferred to the next. Therefore, when humans consume crops directly, they are able to obtain more energy per unit area compared to when they consume cattle, which rely on multiple levels of energy transfer.