Biotechnology use in cotton in the form of herbicide tolerance and then insect resistance came with restrictions and apprehensions. There has also been a devoted opposition that continues and does not seem to be fading away. Researchers did their bestto put forward science-based facts, and vigorous campaigns came from countries that benefited the most from biotech cotton. Often times cotton was linked to food crops which may have entirely different concerns/issues compared to a crop that is grown for fiber. Although, cotton seed oil is extensively used in human consumption. The issues about biotechnology in cotton were little related to cotton seed oil. The cotton industry has not been deterred by philosophical theories and continues to expand theuse of biotech cotton. It is estimated that in 2011/12 biotech cotton was planted on over 23 million hectares. It was also estimated that 69% of global production and 64% of the cotton traded internationally that same year came from biotech varieties. Indonesia is not a big producer of cotton but commercialized biotech cotton 10 years ago and later stopped growing it. Biotech cotton area in all the other countries that adopted it has only been rising. The first article in this issue of THE ICAC RECORDER is an updated version of the article 'Commonly Asked Questions about Transgenic Cotton' which was published in June 2002 issue of THE ICAC RECORDER. Fourteen questions are explicitly discussed in the current article.
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