Just last week I posted a story about how the production of gentically modified cotton in Australia resulted in no measurable negative environmental impact plus it allowed farmers to use 56% less herbicide and 75% less insecticide on their crops.  This led me to question if genetically engineered crops might not be as bad for the environment as the media would have us believe.

Well this week we've been covering re-fashion and I was doing some research on garment reclamation and reuse when I came across Green Choices, a site with consumer information for UK greenies.  They pretty much say that cotton is horrible and deadly... but organic cotton is okay.  This is extremely relevant right now since everyone from Marc Jacobs to Wal-Mart is selling organic cotton goods, sometimes at premium prices.  Let's take a look at what Green Choices has to say on the issue.

Cotton production uses land that should be used for growing food.
No doubt about it, land use is a big environmental issue.  The in the world of agriculture the race to fuel the world with biodiesel has driven farmers to grow crop for fuel instead of food.  Growing cotton is another matter, though isn't it?  I mean, we're talking about the plant that provides us with most of our clothing.  I live in Canada and it gets pretty freakin' cold up here.  Believe me, clothes are essential.  Even if we're talking organic versus non-organic cotton I think the critcism would remain the same since an acre of land is still an acre of land, whether it's organic or not.

The pesticides and herbicides used on conventional cotton are deadly.
Green choices states that pesticides "injure and kill many people every year" and herbicides "add to the toll on both the environment and human health".  Sounds scary.   They reference a document by PANNA, the Pesticide Action Network, in which you have to read in between the lines to comprehend what the whole thing is about.  Here's the long and short of it: 1) cotton is susceptible to lots of pests and problems, 2) sometimes farmers do outright stupid things and 3) folks in Nicaragua and Uzbekistan really should plan better.  In the report, blame is placed on the misuse of these chemicals, not the chemicals themselves, and their most recent data is over ten years old and from countries where they grossly mismanaged their farming resources, mainly due to poor water management and shortsightedness.  Living in Alberta, I have the benefit of knowing a few people who are farmers themselves.  When I asked them about this whole herbicide/pesticide deal with cotton they said the biggest problem was a lack of expertise and education with the farmers, not the chemicals themselves.

Cotton that has been genetically modified "adds environmental problems at another level."
Yikes!  Just what are these problems?  Green Choices links to a page at this organic boutique store which was supposed to have the answers.  It doensn't.  Basically they claim that the extra resistance to pests, etc. that's been build into the cotton could migrate into wild plants and that this would somehow benefit biotechnology companies.  I'm sorry, not only do I see no link between those two things, but there was no information about actual gene migration into other plants or on the devastating environmental problems that Green Choices said were "at another level."

So what's the answer, Mr. Smarty Pants Eco-Blogger?
We need clothes and that means we need to grow cotton.  I think we can all agree on that.  From what I've read it seems there are three types of cotton we can choose from, not two:

   1) Purely Organic Cotton - Regular cotton sprayed with nothing.  Uses the same amount of water, energy and other resources but is extremely susceptible to diseases and insects.

   2) Sprayed Conventional Cotton - So the same as #1 but with chemicals sprayed on it to protect it from problems.  If not done properly this can lead to problems.

   3) GMO Cotton - Like #2 but the seeds have been specially engineered so the cotton far less chemicals applied to it to protect it.

And of those three options the winner is, I think, number three.  All three crops require seeding and harvesting and they all suck nutrients and water out of the soil.  But the genetically modified version actually stands the best chance of producing the most cotton consistently while using those resources.  In fact, if scientists continue to improve those cotton plant, they might be able to reduce the amounts of chemicals used even further.  And that would be a good thing, wouldn't it?

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