Copyright Agriculture Corner

Cotton production and the environment

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The heavy demand for water in cotton production has many interrelated effects on the environment. One of the most obvious and devastating effects is the depletion of lakes and rivers to supply irrigation systems for the cotton fields. The use of water from the Aral Sea to irrigate cotton, for example, has reduced what was one of the four biggest lakes in the world to just 10% of its original size. The eastern basin of the lake is now a desert. The destruction of the Aral Sea’s ancient ecosystems, including the extinction of many species found only in this basin, together with the multiple effects of this destruction on local communities and the fishing industry, is one of the worst environmental disasters ever caused by humans. Throughout the world, the use of water for cotton has had complex and harmful effects on groundwater and the water table, as well as causing the salinization of soils, reducing their fertility

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Another major damaging effect of cotton irrigation is that the water that runs off cotton fields is contaminated with herbicides and pesticides. This is because the vulnerability of cotton to diseases and pests means that industrial producers of cotton spray the fields with massive amounts of chemical herbicides and pesticides. Over 15% of all insecticides and over 6% of all herbicides worldwide are used for cotton production. These chemicals not only have a range of harmful effects on ecosystems and human health, but also end up in the water that runs off cotton fields, polluting freshwater sources and thus depriving people of drinking water.

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As well as water, pesticides and herbicides, large-scale industrial cotton production also requires massive amounts of synthetic fertilizers. The fertilizers used in cotton production are amongst the most environmentally damaging of all fertilizers. This is partly because the production and use of these nitrate-based fertilizers involves processes that not only use up a lot of energy but also create nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is one of the major contributors to climate change.

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Genetically modified cotton seeds have been introduced on a large scale in recent decades, partly to reduce the costs of herbicides and pesticides. Over 80% of the world’s cotton is now grown from genetically modified seeds. Despite the apparent benefits in terms of yield and lower costs, however, the effects of GM cotton on the environment and on cotton farmers are a matter of major and ongoing controversy. Many complex scientific issues are involved in this controversy, but one clear problem with GM cotton seeds is that their success in resisting some pests has led to an increase in the number of other pests – requiring new pesticides. Farmers, meanwhile, have less and less choice about the kinds of seeds they can buy, since the powerful companies that produce GM seeds (i.e. Bt cotton) now dominate the world seed market.

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An increasingly popular alternative to GM cotton is to grow organic cotton without using any synthetic pesticides or fertilisers. Compost and manure are used instead of chemical fertilisers, a method that enriches rather than depletes the soil. Despite these clear benefits for sustainability, organic cotton products are more expensive than non-organic cotton products. This is partly because governments support non-organic producers with funds and do not make them pay for the environmental costs of their production, making their products more competitive on the market. The big question is whether more big fashion brands will switch to organic cotton if environmentalists and consumers demand more sustainable practices from the textile industry.