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Am I eating genetically engineered cotton?
History and prevalence of GE cotton.

Eating cotton? You might be surprised to learn that you are. Although cotton is usually thought of as a fiber crop for textiles, cottonseed oil is also used in a variety of food products, including cooking oils, salad dressing, peanut butter, chips, crackers, cookies, and pastry crusts. Despite its somewhat rocky history of introduction (see below), GE varieties are widely grown in the US and accounted for 73% of the total US cotton crop.
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Genetically Engineered Cotton Production in 2003 Statewise percentage of total cotton acres planted with genetically engineered cotton varieties in major cotton producing states. Cotton produced in these states represents 82% of US cotton production. Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA

The year after BXN cotton was introduced, two more types of GE cotton were introduced by Monsanto, through the Delta & Pine Land Co: the Bt-based insect-resistant "Bollgard" cotton and, on a much smaller scale, cotton varieties resistant to the herbicide glyphosate (Monsanto's "Roundup").

Bollgard cotton was quickly adopted the first year it was marketed. In 1996, one seventh of the US cotton acreage was planted with Bollgard, even higher in some areas (60% of Arizona cotton acres the first year!). Many cotton farmers were angered by Monsanto's contract stipulation that farmers would not save their seeds for replanting (despite the fact that most cotton growers don't). In Texas, a heavy bollworm infestation-- the insect pest Bollgard was supposed to protect against-- proved Bollgard to be less effective than farmers had expected, and lawsuits followed. The stock value of Delta & Pine dropped 18% in a single day. Yet by the end of the year, farmer evaluations of Bollgard were mixed but generally favorable.

The following year, Monsanto was ready for full-scale release of its "Roundup Ready" cotton, and it too was widely adopted the first year. However, by late summer, crop failures in Mississippi, hit hard by a drought, were blamed on the new varieties. Apparently Monsanto agreed-- quietly compensating farmers several million dollars, and withdrawing several of its Roundup Ready varieties the next year.

Monsanto acquired a controlling share of Calgene in 1996 (100% by 1997), and in 1998 released cotton varieties combining Bt-based insect resistance with Calgene's bromoxynil resistance.

In the 1998 growing season, GE cotton accounted for 50% of all US cotton. But bad press and public relation problems continued to plague Monsanto and its GE cotton. In 1998, Monsanto ignored the ruling of an independent arbiter and refused to pay a $1.94 million settlement to several Mississippi farmers who had lost money on Roundup Ready cotton (although Monsanto did volunteer to waive their "technology fees"). Shortly after this, Monsanto began to investigate farmers whom they suspected of saving their seeds, and then published their names in local newspapers. Concurrently, the news broke that Monsanto was trying to acquire for its GE varieties the "Technology Protection System"-- dubbed the "Terminator Technology" by the press-- developed to make seeds sterile if they are saved by farmers for re-planting. Responding to public pressure, Monsanto eventually announced that it would no longer seek the technology.

Yet despite the controversies, GE cotton varieties have been increasingly popular among cotton growers. In 1999, 55% of US cotton was genetically engineered, and that percentage continues to rise annually: 61% in 2000, 68% in 2001, and an estimated 71% in 2002. Roughly half of this percentage are herbicide-resistant varieties, and the other half are either Bt or a combination of Bt plus herbicide-resistance. Bt cotton is also grown on a smaller scale in China, Australia, Mexico, South Africa, and Argentina.
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