You Could Soon Be Eating Cotton
- Researchers have found a way to make cottonseeds edible
- With green light from USDA, only FDA approval is needed
Cotton seeds
Photographer: Eddie Sea/Bloomberg
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Americans may soon be eating cotton for the first time -- not just wearing it -- as a new edible variety is poised to enter the market.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the green light to commercialize a biotech version of the cotton plant whose seeds can be eaten, according to Texas A&M University, which developed it over more than two decades. U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval is still needed, which the university said it expects within months. After that, farmers will be able to grow cotton for food as well as for fiber.