Day 8 and 9

Day 8 by Emma

Today Mr. Winsberg showed us around his farm. 

Ted Winsberg giving us a TED talk

 Then, we went to the University of Florida Research and Education Center in Belle Glade. We learned about love bugs, barn owls, and brown and orange rust. We went to an old building where a bunch of barn owls lived, and as you walked, you could hear the rodent bones crunching beneath our feet. We saw baby owls that were adorable.

Digging up wire worms - an enemy of the sugar cane

Sugar beets - so much to think about

Baby owls, eggs waiting to hatch, and dead rats

We went on an owl walk in the evening. We dissected owl pellets and ate dinner there.

They fed us hot dogs and deliciousness and we had a bonfire. Then we found a campsite and set up camp in the dark. Everyone was tired. We slept.

Day 9 by Wild

Today we woke up at a campsite and ate granola. It was good. Then we packed up and headed to Monsanto. They gave us swag bags and told us about selective breeding and that molecular breeding is just a fancy way of saying sped up selective breeding. Selective breeding is when you choose the plants you like and keep regrowing them until you get the plants you like. With molecular engineering, they sample the leaf of each plant and send it into a lab to read the DNA. Genetically modified organics is when they take a gene from something and put it into something different. Everyone has been eating GMOs since 1995 – corn, Hawaiian papaya, soy and wheat. We don’t eat cotton, but it’s a GMO crop. Then we ate lunch and drove to Asher’s mom’s house and we’re going to camp in her backyard.

Pepper plant starts being used for selective breeding research