Gene-altered cotton: The fabric of our future
Tansy Harcourt / BLOOMBERG NEWS 12nov00

CAIRNS, Australia - More than half the world's cotton may come from genetically modified plants by 2006, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAO) predicted Friday.

Only about 12 percent of the world's cotton plants in the 1999-2000 crop year were genetically modified in countries such as the United States, China and Australia. This will surge, though, when the rest of the world's cotton growers embrace genetically modified cotton on a commercial scale, the 43-nation ICAO said.

"With China's use expanding rapidly and maybe India soon, it's easily possible" half the world's cotton will be genetically modified, said Rafiq Chaudhry, ICAC's head of technical information.

Genetically modified, or GM, plants have implanted genes to improve their yields or resistance to insects, chemicals or drought. The technology has its opponents, who say these crops could cross-pollinate with other plants and create so-called super weeds that could threaten other crops.

World cotton production in the 1999-2000 crop year was about 88 million bales, worth about $26.4 billion, according to figures

from Rabobank Nederland NV.

The United States produces up to 20 percent of the world's cotton, and about 70 percent of that is GM. Scientists say GM varieties help farmers compete with developing nations with lower labor costs.

"New technology has allowed U.S. farmers to compete on the world market," said Phillip Wakelyn, a scientist at the U.S. National Cotton Council.

In Australia, the world's No. 3 exporter, the entire crop will will soon be genetically modified, said the government scientific agency, CSIRO.