Modified cottonseed could feed people (AP/CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cotton, for thousands of years one of the most important crops for clothing and shelter, might also become a source of food.

A chemical called gossypol makes cottonseed inedible for humans, though some of it is used in feed for cattle, which are less affected by the toxin.

Now, researchers at Texas A&M University have genetically modified cotton to produce seeds with little or no gossypol.

It's a step they say could help provide valuable protein to millions of people. Their findings are reported in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Keerti Rathore of the university's Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology, said the modified plants continue to have gossypol in their stems and leaves where it helps resist insects, but the chemical is significantly reduced in the seed.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/11/20/cotton.seed.ap/index.html

Oh joy ... another flashpoint for foes and advocates of GMO ...

[tridim]

1. Dump the cottonseed and grow hemp seed

It's just that easy.

[silverweb]

5. Exactly.

NO modification needed, to say nothing of far less water, fertilizers, and pesticides needed.

Which is exactly why established industries like cotton fight legalization of hemp on every front.

[LittleClarkie]

9. Hemp seed have nutrients?

Apparently cotton has some protein.

[Journeyman]

2. Milo Minderbinder tried to feed people Egyptian cotton in "Catch-22". . .

it didn't go down so well.

[ThomCat]

3. What else was modified in that cotton?

No genetic modification has ever been shown to produce ONLY the intended effect. At best, they ignore the other changes and insist that the new plant is entirely safe without any testing.

I don't want to ingest oil from a genetically modified plan until they've done some serious testing.

[swimboy]

6. Cotton and unintended consequences

Cotton: Let's move to Boise, I always wanted to go there!
Babs Johnson: Boise, Cotton? Why, that might not be a bad place!
Crackers: Were you ever there?
Cotton: Only once, we robbed a transit bus there, remember?
Babs Johnson: I remember, the number 42!

(I wasn't stalking you--just found you here)

[ThomCat]

7. Like I would complain

if you were stalking me.

Hell, I'll hold the door for you and invite you in. :P

[derby378]

4. This is so wrong...

You're supposed to wear cotton, not eat it.

[irislake]

8. Genetically modified?

Not for me. Wouldn't wanna touchit.

[NMDemDist2]

10. cottonseed oil has been used for years in margarine and cooking oil

the problem with that is since cotton isn't considered a "food" crop, it is allowed all kinds of nasty pesticides ect that aren't allowed for food

a big reason i switched to butter decades ago.......

as for the GM frankenfood no thanks!