Fill ‘er up with rutabaga, please

Rutabaga is a root, sort of like a turnip. And you’re right, BLECH! So, instead of eating it, let’s turn it into fuel. Researchers are Michigan State are looking into doing just that. The idea is that they could modify it to churn out even more oil in its seeds than it does now. But, what’s even better, is that you won’t have to fight the kids to get them to eat it anymore… ’cause you’ll be using it to fill up. Excerpt: Researchers at Michigan State University are working to turn the rutabaga into an oil-producing powerhouse that could make the turnip-like vegetable a better source of biofuel than other food crops. The idea is that the rutabaga, which stores oil in its seeds like some other biofuel crops, could be genetically modified to churn out more oil and store it throughout the plant. “If we could make it in the green tissues, like the leaves, stems or even underground tissues like storage roots, then we think we can make a lot more,” professor Christoph Benning said. The rutabaga hasn’t had much presence on U.S. dinner tables, an advantage in using it for biofuel. The use of corn, soybeans and other food crops for fuel instead of food has raised the specter of shortages, and some blame the biofuel boom for pushing up food prices. Benning’s research is one of many efforts nationally to get biofuel from sources other than major food crops.Read the entire article here.