Is a collective human effort to comprehend, or better understand, the history of the natural world and how it works, through physical evidence collected via observations.

The answer is Science.

Science is the systematic observation of natural events and conditions. Observation is done in order to discover facts about the natural events and to formulate laws and principles based on the facts. The arranged body of knowledge which is derived from such observations and that can be verified or tested by further investigation.

it's anything that aren't producers and consumers.

explanation:

you've got to be clear on what "this" is