Benefits of Organic Cotton
Health & Welfare of Cotton Workers & Families
The advantages of organic cotton production to the cotton farmers, their
families and the environment are wide reaching.
"Non organic cotton production can have serious health consequences
with the World Health Organisation attributing a significant proportion
of the 20,000 deaths each year due to pesticide poisoning to the cotton
industry. The cotton farmers also traditionally struggle with debt due
to the cost of the chemicals.
Organic cotton farmers have, however, reported significant improvements
to their lives. They are no longer in debt, allowing them to educate their
children and pay for better health services, and their health is better.
Organic cotton farmers can also grow food safely on their land, which
they can then use to feed themselves and their families or sell to increase
their income, thus providing food security. Organic farmers also report
substantially higher incomes, allowing them to educate their children
and gain access to health care. " Soil Assoc Website
Positive environmental Impact
Organic cotton is grown using methods and materials that have a low impact
on the environment. Organic production systems such as composted manure
and crop rotation, replenish and maintain soil fertility, and build biologically
diverse agriculture. Third-party certification organizations verify that
organic producers use only methods and materials allowed in organic production.
Protecting the Water Supply
Organic cotton is grown without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides
and synthetic fertilizers, helping to reduce surface water contamination
and helping to safeguard essential drinking water supplies.
An Alternative to GM
Although genetic engineering (GE) proponents claim GE crops will cut
pesticide use, this is not necessarily true. What is clear however, is
that organic agriculture does reduce such exposure because it avoids the
use of toxic and persistent pesticides.
GE crops have resulted in a large increase in pesticide use and have
failed to increase yield or tackle world hunger and poverty, according
to a 2008 report released by Friends of the Earth and the Center for Food
Safety. According to the report, four of every five acres of GE crops
worldwide are Roundup Ready (RR) varieties, designed for use with glyphosate,
a weed-killing pesticide. U.S. government data reveal a 15-fold increase
in the use of glyphosate on soybeans, corn and cotton in the United States
from 1994 to 2005, driven by the adoption of RR versions of these crops.
Source: "Who Benefits from GM Crops? The Rise in Pesticide Use",
Friends of the Earth and Center for Food Safety (www.foei.org/en/publications/pdfs/gmcrops2008Q-A.pdf),
February 2008.
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