GMO;OMG

Erick Feria

For my 2014-2015 science fair project I'm finding out if GMO produce differs from Organic produce.

Question: How does GMO produce differ from Organic produce

Hypothesis: I think that organic produce does differ from GM produce since organic produce is grown naturally rather than being produced in a laboratory.

Procedure: To get my data, I did a couple of tests in categories of Appearance, Texture, Taste, and Size with 7 different fruits and vegetables: Bosc Pear, Orange, Banana, Granny Smith Apple,Celery, Kiwi, and Mango. I used a rubric from 1-5 (1 being the worst and 5 being the best).

Appearance: For each fruit and vegetable I looked at the fruit and with my own rubric, i gave it a score based on my opinion. For example, The Bosc Pear had an rating of 4.2. I would write down every single flaw and perfection it had

Texture: For this part of the test, I would not use my eyes but my fingers to see if there were any bumps or damages done to the fruit or vegetable. Then I would use my rating scale to give it a rate.

Taste: I gathered a few volunteers for this test and gave them a copy of my grading rubric and they were to eat both organic and GM. They were to circle the best one that best suits the produce.

Size: Lastly, for this part, I would use measuring tape to measure the circumference of round fruit. Fruit and Vegetables such as the banana and celery, I had to measure with a ruler to get the height. Then I would grade it which it best suits.

Conclusion: In the end, I noticed that organic produce is somewhat different than GM produce. My Hypothesis was correct. There were some things in my project I could have done to make it better such as not using my own opinion to get data. Since I was comparing produce, there would be no other way to get data. I learned that the produce a person buys is labeled for a reason.

Abstract:

Erick Feria

GMO,OMG

How Do Organic and GM Produce differ

For my science fair project, I will discover if Organic and GM produce really have a difference. For my hypothesis, I decided that they actually have a difference in each category. I did this project because I always discovered if there was actually a difference between the two rather than the FDA putting a label on the fruit . Also, I am very concerned with my diet, especially fruits and vegetables, and I would prefer if my produce was grown from the ground naturally rather than being made in a laboratory.

In my procedure, I decided to test them in different categories. I tested by appearance, size, taste, texture, and how they decay. For appearance, I would write down every single detail for each organic and non-organic fruit or vegetable. For example, If I had an organic apple, I would write down the color of the apple to the littles brown spot on it. For size, I would use measuring tape to measure the circumference of both organic and non-organic. Also, I would also measure the height for fruits and vegetables such as carrots or bananas. The taste part of the test is quite tricky. So I would ask some volunteers (like my friends and family) to taste organic and non-organic produce. Then I would make a scale from 1-5 to see which is better (1 being the worst and 5 being the best ). Lastly, The texture part of the test, Is very similar to what I did for the appearance part of the test, but I would write down every single hole or bump I would feel.

After doing this, I have collected my data. I have tested 7 different fruits for this project: Bosc pears, oranges, bananas, Granny Smith apples,Celery, kiwis, and mangoes. For the appearance part of the test, the organic fruit overall had an average of 4.2 while the GM produce overall had an average of 3.6. The texture part of the test, the Organic produce had an average 4.4 while the GM produce had a mean of 3.8. The taste part of the test, the average for organic produce was 2.9 while the GM produce had a mean of 2. Lastly, The organic produce had an average of 4.1 while the GM produce has a mean of 4.

At the end of the project, I noticed there were a few flaws that might have affected me getting exact data. First, I noticed that I got data by using my own opinion rather than asking other people. In this case, I was comparing so there would be no other way to get data besides using my own judgement. Also, fruit and vegetables change each day so for my appearance and texture part of the test, the descriptions might not be that reliable. In my project, they haven't developed any changed so I was fine there. Lastly, I got my data by using my own rubric so the data is not too reliable. I had fun doing this project and learned that organic fruit is some what different than GM fruit, therefore, my hypothesis was correct.