Weber+Potato+Project

Cole Weber flys solo.
 * [[image:dna_image.png width="153" height="46"]] || Why is it called the "Blueprint of Life?" || What is it a blueprint for? || What reads the blueprint? ||

Describe your Topic below:

Genetically modify potatoes to help avoid them be more nutritious to

consume. The main goal is to make pierogies healthier to eat because they are scrumptious.

Brainstorm what you know and what you would like to know:
 * = ** What we (think) we know ** ||=  ||= What we would like to know / understand ||
 * < ﻿Foods can be genetically modified to be bigger and taste better. ||  ||< ﻿What can be done to modify potatoes so that when they are eaten in any form they will be more nutricious. ||

State the essential question or problem statement for the project. The statement should encompass all project content and outcomes, and provide a central focus for your inquiry. Driving Questions can’t be Googled! Driving questions are: Provocative – Do Commercials paint an accurate picture of the United States? Open-Ended – Should the United States have used the atomic bomb in WWII? Go to the heart of a discipline or topic – How Safe is our drinking water? (Biology Chemistry principles applied in context – judgment and evaluation required) Are challenging – When are people justified in revolting against the established government? Can arise from real world dilemmas that you find interesting – How could we effectively prevent texting while driving? Can potatoes be genetically modified in order to be healthier to consume? Have scientists tried to genetically modified potatoes? What was the end result? How would genetically modified potatoes improve health? Would genetically modified potatoes make pierogies better?
 * Craft a Driving Question: **

As you conduct background research on your topic upload useful finds here. This could include ANNOTATED LINKS, ARTICLES, EMBEDDED VIDEOS, GRAPHICS. For all resources site the source (usually the url)
 * Background Research **

A great PBS Video called Harvest of Fear

The Future of Food: a documentary on Genetic Engineering


 * __ General Cassava Facts﻿ __**
 * also known as yuca or manioc
 * big crop in tropical environment
 * a tuby starch filled root
 * large source of carbs
 * largest exporter of cassava is Nigeria
 * if not prepared properly causes disease
 * bitter cassava is preferred by crop owners because it defers pests although it can taste sweet as well when prepared

__** Research to Make Cassava Healthier and More Useful **__

The first known interest in the enhancing of Cassava was by Dr. Nagib Nassar in the early 1970's and he has shown plenty of success in the field to show that research and experiments should continue. He has been nominated 4 times for the World Food Prize and in 2002 Dr. Nassar won the World Food Prize for his research and by some was even considered a possibility of earning the Nobel Prize. His research was done at the Institute of African Studies and was mostly funded by the International Development Research Center. After Nassar's first test of removing the undesirable traits in the cassava his genetically modified form showed that its protein content had doubled the amount in the natural form of the cassava. This was surprising news when scientist heard because on a normal basis it took up to as little as 10 years to make such improvement to a gentically modified food. In Africa scientist are working on a potato like food called the cassava and were enlarging it in size to help reduce the risk of starvation among the African people. Along with increasing the size of the cassave through genetic modification they removed its ability to cause disease and viruses in the persons body who consumes it. , This is a picture of crop workers in Ghana, Africa collecting cassava which is very similar to the crop we know as a potato.

__** ﻿Other Usefull Characteristics of Cassava **__
 * year round availability, production is never ending
 * high tolerance to extreme weather conditions
 * can be grown and left in the ground to be "stored" for another time for extended time periods
 * becoming more common in animal feed
 * picking does not reduce the growth of the root

**__How We Can Apply This Research to Potatoes__**

As most Americans know especially after possibly viewing the movie __Supersize Me__ fast food is a large factor of weight problems in the country. With it being so accessible to any American and the cheap price its an easy way to be lazy and not make dinner or get some food on the run. French fries make a main side to most burgers and food items bought from fast food joints and although they are delicious they are not so nutricious. First off, potatoes themself have very little protein in them because they are basically a big ball of starch. When they are put in a fryer with oil the grease just makes them even more unhealthy. Potatoes and the Cassava root have plenty of similarities and basically are used for the same reasons. Recently in Africa where the Cassava is a staple item in many places they have been doing genetic testing on the starchy tube roots. The research has proven the possibility of making a starchy item such as the Cassava or a potato up to 30 percent more nutricious then its original form. I think that we should fund research in America to work towards this goal as well. The country is exploding with diet, exercise, and healthy food ads more and more and i think that if we made a staple food item more nutricious it could make a difference. While the potato would be made nutricious it would still retain the same taste when it is deep fried or any other type of cooking so no worries to those who are worried about it tasting funny.



Project Idea: have students watch this [|video] and then guide them in a debate using the teacher resources found at this PBS site

__Conclusion__

Through my reasearch i have concluded that if potatoes could be gentically modified then pierogies would be a much better food product because the would be delicious and healthier for you.



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