Crops Cotton

Cotton is more than just a fibre for textiles. It is also an important source of raw materials used in animal feed and for various processed food ingredients. Many countries are now growing genetically modified cotton. In China, GM cotton could drastically reduce pesticide use.

Cotton fibres used in textiles around the world come from the seed hairs of a plant known as Gossypium hirsutum. Cotton, which is cultivated on five continents, develops in closed, green capsules known as bolls that burst open when ripe, revealing the white, fluffy fibres.

A bollworm on a cotton boll. Insect pests are a problem for cotton. Bt cotton is an alternative to chemical insecticides.

After harvest, the fibres must be separated from the seeds. The protein- and oil-rich seeds can be processed into various side-products that are used in food and feed: Cottonseed oil is a high-value cooking or frying oil and is sometimes used to make margarine. The oil is also a source of vitamin E (tocopherol). Protein-rich cottonseed meal is mostly used as animal feed. Some, however, is used for protein preparations and cottonseed milk. Leftover fibres that are too short to be spun into textiles consist almost completely of cellulose and can be used as food additives. Cellulose (E 460) and methylcellulose (E 461) can be used as thickeners, stabilisers, emulsifiers, or fillers.

Bt cotton cultivation in many countries

GM cotton has become widespread, covering a total of 15 million hectares in 2007, or 43 percent of the world's cotton. Most GM cotton is grown in the US and China, but it can also be found in India, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Mexico, and Columbia. The GM cultivars grown today are resistant to herbicides orinsect pests.

Two thirds of China's cotton production is genetically modified to produce a substance (Bt toxin) that protects it against insect pests. A few types of caterpillars are especially problematic because they bore into cotton bolls reducing yield and compromising quality. Cotton used to be protected from insects by repeated pesticide applications. Bt cotton has now enabled Chinese farmers to dramatically reduce pesticide use.

The production of GM cotton has not yet been approved in the EU. Applications have been submitted, but a decision is still pending. Several lines of GM cotton have been approved in the EU, but only for use as food and feed.

See also on GMO-Compass:

• GMO Cultivation Area