Relevant US authorities have approved genetically modified cotton as a "potential solution to human hunger." The radical solution is to allow not only animal but also human consumption of GMO cotton seeds developed at the University of Texas Mechanics and Agriculture, without independent long-term testing. This creates new concerns about the safety of our food chain. Soon, the global food chain may well be contaminated with GMO cotton seeds, the danger of which is being ignored by the authorities.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just approved the unregulated distribution of a new type of GMO cotton. This type, named TAM66274, has been genetically modified, presumably to make the seeds suitable for human or animal nutrition by suppressing the dangerous toxin present in them, while ostensibly leaving the toxin in the rest of the plant.
With FDA approval, GMO cotton seeds will now be approved as food for humans and animals. The project is led by Kirti Rathor, a biotechnology and plant scientist and protégé of the late Norman Borlaug at the Texas Mechanics and Agriculture University's research center.
Rathor says the group will now seek approval in other countries, starting in Mexico. According to his calculations: “The cottonseed produced annually contains about 10.8 trillion grams of protein. That's enough to meet the basic protein needs of over 500 million people at 50 grams of protein per person per day.” He says GMO cotton seeds can also be used as feed for pigs, poultry, or farmed fish and shrimp. His group views seeds as a new primary source of protein for consumption, as well as a profit for cotton growers. Not surprisingly, Cotton Inc., an American lobbying group, is sponsoring the GMO project.
Cotton Inc. and Monsanto also have a history of collaboration. For every pound of cotton fiber, the plant produces about 1.6 kg of seeds, Rathor said. The annual global production of cotton seeds is about 48.5 million tons. If it can now be turned into cottonseed oil or food for human and animal consumption and sold, it would greatly increase the profits of cotton growers. The world's largest supplier of cotton seed for cotton planting is Monsanto, now part of Bayer AG.
“The safe seed kernels can be ground into a flour after oil extraction and used as a protein supplement in foods, or possibly toasted and seasoned to become a nutritious snack,” Rathor said.
On October 1, the FDA released a summary of the results for the University of Texas application that was filed in 2017. This gives the impression that government researchers have scrutinized the controversial issue of whether to allow the consumption of GMO cotton seeds. But no. As the FDA states in its October 2019 findings, the FDA declaration is simply copied from research done by the manufacturer, i.e. the University of Texas and its biotechnology research group, funded by the American cotton industry, Cotton Inc.
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Highly toxic gossypol
The FDA's decision, taken without independent verification of the results reported by the University of Texas research team, is remarkable given the fact that cotton seeds contain a highly toxic substance known as gossypol. Because of gossypol, previously, most of the mass of cotton plants was useless or was used only for limited feeding of animals after special treatment. The seeds were found to be unfit for human consumption.
GMO cotton has been modified using so-called RNA interference (RNAi) technology to “silence” a gene that the developers claim “significantly” reduces the gossypol content of cotton seed. Rathor states that he suppressed the gene so that gossypol is found everywhere except the seed: “We removed this gossypol from the seeds without affecting its levels in other parts of the plant,” Rathor said. "By removing the toxin from the cottonseed, it could potentially feed 500 to 600 million people a year." Well, to be precise, it's “almost” deleted. The group recognizes that about 3% of gossypol remains in the seed.
We are now allowed to eat seeds that are low in gossypol, which are said to be rich in protein and supposedly safe. The FDA's decision to authorize the marketing of genetically modified cotton for human and animal consumption has several troubling aspects.
Insufficient security check
First of all, as researcher Claire Robinson notes in her excellent analysis, RNAi is unlikely to be safe. She notes scientific studies that show the risks of RNA-interfered with GMO crops. One study found that RNAi molecules in food plants can survive the digestion process and enter the human or animal body and even affect gene expression with unpredictable side effects. Robinson stresses that the FDA did not conduct adequate rigorous testing on the safety of GMO cotton, as did the Texas researchers. She notes: “Seeds intended for consumption have not been tested for toxicity in animals. The application only relates to testing in mice for NPTII antibiotic resistance of the gene product, although it does not mentionhow long did these tests last."
Not only is the range of studies presented by Rathor's group insufficient, they acknowledge that their GMO cultivar has not completely lost the presence of toxic gossypol in cotton seeds, so they are called seeds with a “low” gossypol content of approximately 3%. There is no long-term study in mice or other animals to understand the effect of 3% or other low gossypol content in cotton seeds.
Population decline?
Gossypol is, among other things, a contraceptive. A study published in the journal Contraception notes that gossypol "induces infertility in most animals, and in men it causes spermatogenesis to stop at relatively low doses … Gossypol should be given preferably to men … who become completely infertile after several years of use." It seems that now it threatens many.
Another study published in Scientific World Journal says that, among other toxic effects, “… free gossypol can cause … respiratory distress, impaired weight gain, anorexia, weakness, lethargy and death after a few days. However, the most common toxic effect is male and female reproductive disorders. Another important toxic effect of gossypol is its interference with the immune function, a decrease in the resistance of animals to infections …"
Now, according to the FDA, we humans are also animals suitable for consuming GMO cotton seeds. Is the presence of 3% gossypol in the now "edible" GMO cotton seeds sufficient to cause reproductive impairment in humans or any other serious symptoms? We just don't know, as none of the responsible US regulators, either the USDA or the FDA, have apparently bothered to seriously test this.
What has the FDA done to protect the health and safety of potential GMO cotton consumers, humans or animals? A careful reading of the October 1 FDA consolidated report shows that their entire assessment, as already noted, was taken directly from the test results provided to them by Rathor's group, and Rathor, in turn, does not specify how long the tests were carried out, and whether enough it was this time to reveal the negative effects that appear only after longer trials. Other tests are superficial and inconclusive.
Talking about his hopes for the use of a new type of GMO cotton, Rathor states: "As we move forward, I personally will follow the example of Golden Rice in terms of humanitarian use."
The only problem with this "example" is that the 1990s Rockefeller Foundation Philippine project to develop a supposedly high vitamin A "Golden Rice" was a colossal failure that its creators later abandoned. It was just a PR move to promote GMOs. It's possible that inadequately tested genetically modified cotton seeds will end up mixing with our food, as has happened many times before, but hasn't made us any wiser. The precautionary principle seems to have been violated by FDA scientists.
F. William Engdahl, Strategic Risk Consultant and Lecturer, Ph. D. in Politics, Princeton University.