Cotton Could Help Feed Hundreds Of Millions

Originally posted by DJMessiah
What can one make from cotton seeds? I know there's cotton seed oil which is often used in cooking, but how will the solid part of the seed be used?

Cosmetics, such as lipstick. Cotton seed meal is used as a cow feed and as a fertilizer. Rayon is made from cotton fiber.

Originally posted by elaine

Is there anything else we eat or drink that has to have toxins taken out of so it's edible?

Cashews have to be roasted to make them edible. Cashew oil is very toxic.

This story of edible-cotton sounds uncannily like one of Milo Minderbinder's schemes in Catch-22...chocolate-covered cotton anyone?

So the toxin in cotton seeds makes you steril.
So I guess you could now say that the low level of toxin in the cotton seeds could be used by the government to control the countries population.

Simple stomach animals can not take the Gosspol, must be fed to ruminates, cattle, sheep, goats.

We use a lot of cottonseed meal here in feed lot country. The Gosspol can be taken out of the CSM but the process is costly.

CS oil is used in cooking and has been de-gosspol.

Roper

posted by Roper

Simple stomach animals can not take gossypol . . must feed to ruminates . . we use a lot of cottonseed meal in feed lot country. The gossypol can be taken out of CSM but the process is costly. CS oil is used in cooking and has been de-gossypol’ed. Roper
en.wikipedia.org... [Edited by Don W]

Thanks, Roper, for the good info. I have 3 remarks or questions. 1) It sounds to me we are already making 100% use of cotton and its by-products. 2) Would it be efficacious to grow more cotton merely to obtain more edible by-products? 3) I did not know cotton was an ingredient in rayon. I thought Dupont “invented” rayon. en.wikipedia.org... It is interesting this article avoids the use of “cotton” as a source for rayon. Instead, it refers to “organic cellulose polymers” which I suppose is cotton to us ordinary mortals? Thanks for teaching me today.


[edit on 11/22/2006 by donwhite]

crappy food already use cotton seed oil (sometimes even hydrogenated )

It's inedible and not a good idea. But people will eat anything if the Ad is cool enough I suppose...

We are using 100% or very near it. We feed the gin trash. Cotton burs mixed in with grain, molasses to bulk up the diet.

Cotton is becoming a water saving crop in irrigated country and that equals $'s saved to the farmer.

If they can take the gossypol out genetically then the CSM could be used and a protein source for swine, equine.

Roper

[edit on 22-11-2006 by Roper]

Originally posted by Roper

Cotton is becoming a water saving crop in irrigated country and that equals $'s saved to the farmer.


Roper

[edit on 22-11-2006 by Roper]

I'd be interested to know how cotton is a water saving crop. I thought it was a very water intensive crop. There's quite a bit of consternation over growing crops like cotton and rice in Australia at the moment, mainly due to the water requirements.

Wyrde One is right, hemp is much more efficent, requires less water, doesn't need to be "Frankenstein'd" (GM) etc..

Takes less H2O to grow cotton in respects to corn, sorghum, and maybe sunflowers. YMMV

Roper

posted by Roper

Takes less H2O to grow cotton in respects to corn, sorghum, and maybe sunflowers. YMMV Roper

If we begin to grow more cotton for its seed, how will that effect the world price of cotton for cloth? What countries would feel that negative price factor most?






[edit on 11/22/2006 by donwhite]

Here's some info on cottonseed oil.

www.wisegeek.com...

Don, cotton is a daylight and temperature( needs a certain amount of heat units) sensitive plant. Has to have H2O also. So it is grown all over the world. Africa, China, Australia, South America, USA and other places too I'm sure.

Cotton like any other commodity will rise or fall according to supply and demand.

There is a great need for human food stuffs so I think there will be some time before cotton takes the place of corn, rice and wheat.

Roper.

posted by Roper

Don, cotton is a daylight and temperature sensitive plant. Has to have H2O also. It is grown over the world. Africa, China, Australia, South America, USA and other places. Cotton like any other commodity, will rise or fall according to supply and demand. There is a great need for human food stuffs . . I think it will be some time before cotton takes the place of corn, rice and wheat. Roper. [Edited by Don W]

I’m still an unreconstructed Malthusian who thinks we are, agriculturally speaking, on a chemical bubble. I have read that the chemicals we are using to raise production levels of many crops, those same chemicals are altering the fundamental structure of the world's soils in an unsustainable way. That we are boosting short term production is true but it’s at the expense of long term dependability. According to those naysayers when the bubble bursts, which they promise it will, production will fall precipitously. At that point in time, if the have-not nations have their own supply of nukes, the have nations will be vulnerable to blackmail to put everyone on a strict diet and share the food. As if we were all in a lifeboat at sea where everyone is damned sure equal.


[edit on 11/22/2006 by donwhite]