Farmers who grow Bt cotton reduce their use of pesticides

Genetically modified foods have caused no end of anxiety and distrust. But not genetically modified shirts. Why? Readers may imagine the reason is that there is no such thing as a genetically modified shirt, and they would be half right. The shirt genome has yet to be mapped, and the heritability of sleeve length is not widely accepted in either the textile or molecular biology community.

That doesn’t mean there are no genes being fiddled with in the making of that oxford cloth button down. Genetically modified cotton, also known as Bt, or transgenic, cotton, is grown all over the world and is present in unknown numbers and styles of garments.

Many consumers want food that is made from genetically modified plants labelled at the very least, so they know what they are getting. And yet, what is more personal? Corn? Or shirts? Well, perhaps corn. But how about underpants? How would the world feel, how do you feel, knowing that at the moment you are reading this you may be wearing transgenic underpants? Apparently you don’t care, or there would have been a great grass-roots, or cotton-roots opposition movement to Bt cotton, which has been modified to include genetic material from a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt. Maybe it sounds scary, but Bt is generally thought of as a good toxin. It is widely used by organic gardeners as an alternative to stronger pesticides. What Frankencotton does is produce its own Bt toxin, which makes life easier for the farmer, and harder on the pests.

Despite some opposition to genetically modified crops, even ones not grown for food, Frankencotton has been so successful that it is now grown all over the world, including the United States. It is particularly popular in Asia.

According to a recent report in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at the University of Arizona, farmers who grew Bt cotton reduced their use of pesticides and increased the diversity of their insect populations, while protecting crops against the dread pink bollworm.

A similar genetic modification in corn has caused an uproar. Many countries have rules about labelling food that contains genetically modified organisms, or GMO. Zambia, for instance, has refused to import transgenic corn. But cotton has faced no such trade barriers. The obvious reason is that people tend not to eat their shirts.

Also, clothes, unlike foods, have not evolved the way corn, cows and kohlrabi did, so we don’t expect them to be natural and unsullied. They don’t even reproduce, although I have wondered whether socks mate in the drawers at night. More likely, they kill each other while I’m sleeping, because when I wake up all I find are sock widows and widowers.

Another explanation for the difference between our attitudes toward corn and cotton is that humans prefer their food, particularly staples, to stay relatively the same, while they actively seek out mutations in their clothing. Modern styles change rapidly. And history shows the great diversity of clothing that humans have worn, from the loincloth to low-rider jeans, from the toga to the tail coat.

So consumers are not likely to demand warning labels on their clothes. But labels could be a selling point for some manufacturers and designers. Some consumers might enjoy having clothes labelled as genetically engineered, even though the cotton and not the shirt is what has been modified. Risks that would be shunned in corn bread might be embraced in a pullover. GMO T-shirts could be a big seller at the CalTech gift shop or the National Institutes of Health.

They could become cult favourites of the multiply pierced. For the small, though probably fervent, number of people seriously worried about transgenic underwear, there is a label you can look for. Organic cotton, as defined by the Department of Agriculture, can’t be genetically modified. Manufacturers may, however, use all sorts of chemicals in the processing of organic cotton, so if the briefs are water repellent and permanent press, think twice.