A drought in Somalia is causing widespread famine and tens of thousands of deaths. The author researches which flour would be most nutritious to send as aid: quinoa or wheat. Quinoa is found to be far more nutritious due to its high protein, mineral, and fat content. However, quinoa is also more expensive. The author proposes sending a mixture of 25% quinoa flour and 75% wheat flour to maintain nutritional value while lowering costs.

1. Let’s Feed Somalia! Jess Britton Biology 12 September 26 th , 2011

5. My first question is which flour has the highest protein content in order to aid in producing antibodies, hormones, enzymes, collagen formation and tissue repair?

6. Secondly, which flour is rich in minerals that are essential to the human body?

7. Next, is the fat content in the flour sufficient enough for the people of Somalia who are starving?

8. Also, is the flour worth it’s cost? And could its nutritional value be more important?

12. Contrary to our experiment, quinoa has the highest protein content out of all the flours! It has all 8 of the essential amino acids and contains lysine, a very important amino acid!

13. And voila! The answer to question number one has been answered! Lysine is a very important amino acid that produces antibodies, hormones, and enzymes; and it aids in collagen formation and tissue repair! Quinoa is a valuable source of protein for those who do not eat animal protein!

18. In conclusion, quinoa is the most nutritious flour because it is a complete protein, is rich with minerals, and contains unsaturated fats! In order to avoid the costly prices I have come up with a solution by combining quinoa flour with wheat flour. This is the answer to sending aid to Somalia!