From Producers to Consumers When a rabbit eats aclover plant, the rabbit gets energy from the carbohydrates the clover plant made through photosynthesis. If a coyote eats the rabbit, some of the energy is transferred from the rabbit to the coyote. In Figure 3, the clover is the producer. A producer is an organism that makes its own food. Producers are also called autotrophs, or self-feeders. The rabbit and the coyote are consumers, organisms that get their energy by eating other organisms. Consumers are also called heterotrophs, or other-feeders. In Figure 3, the clover, rabbit, and coyote get their energy from the sun. Some producers get energy directly from the sun by absorbing it through their leaves. Consumers get energy indi- rectly from the sun by eating producers or other consumers.