COTTONSEEDThe Inside Story Part of Your Daily Life When thinking of cotton, do you think of snack food ingredients? Computer screens? Smartphone screens? Feed for cattle, catfish and other animals? Toothpaste? If you’re like most people you probably think first of the comfortable, breathable clothing and textiles made from cotton fiber. Textiles, however, are only part of the cotton story. The real news is that the cotton plant produces more food for humans and feed for animals than it does fiber. All elements of the seed: linters, kernels, and hulls are used in consumer products, delicious foods, and nutritious feed for animals. The development of the cottonseed industry had its beginnings with the invention of the cotton gin in 1793. The cotton gin made large supplies of cottonseed available, thus spurring the development of the cottonseed products industry. Today, cottonseed products touch our lives in many different ways throughout each day. One of these products was America’s original vegetable oil, made from cottonseed which is extracted from the cottonseed kernel. Even after more than one hundred years, cottonseed oil is still widely used in various snack foods such as chips, pretzels and crackers. Cottonseed oil is also a key ingredient in many marinades, dressings, margarines, and prepared foods. In addition, the use of the kernels extends to a variety of other products…from cosmetics to the cottonseed meal fed to cattle as a high protein and high energy supplement. Linters, which are the short fibers that cling to the seed after the ginning process, go into everything from computer screens to paper currency, and cellulose products are used in foods like ice cream, maple syrup, and chewing gum. Even the protective hulls surrounding the kernels are used as roughage in the diet of cattle and as a high quality, organic mulch for gardening. FACTS: • Cottonseed represents about 10-15% of the • Cotton is grown over most of the US cotton industry. southern half of the United States, • Average US cottonseed production is and like all other United States food about 5 million tons with a market value crops, growing cotton is strictly regulated by the FDA (Food and of over $1 billion. Drug Administration), the EPA • The cotton plant produces nearly twice (Environmental Protection Agency) as much seed as it does fiber. and other regulatory agencies. • The seed from one bale of cotton • As the third leading producer of produces enough oil to cook nearly 6,000 cotton (behind China and India), snack sized bags of potato chips. the United States accounts for nearly • Cottonseed oil is one of the few oils 11% of global cottonseed production. considered acceptable for reducing saturated fat intake and it is the standard Data source: USDA ten year average of 2006-2015 to which other oils are compared. Georgia Cotton Commission • PO Box 1464 • Perry, Georgia 31069 • Phone: 478.988.4235 • www.georgiacottoncommission.org DISCOVER HOW COTTONSEED TOUCHES YOUR FAMILY’S LIFE EVERYDAY MEAL & CAKE CRUDE OIL FERTILIZER FEED FISH BAIT REFINED OIL MOLE CRICKET BAIT Lawns Beef Cattle Snack Food Frying SOAP FOOTS Mushrooms Dairy Cattle Salad & Cooking Oil FATTY ACIDS Shrubs Mayonnaise GLYCERINE Sheep & Goats Metallic Soaps Flowers Horses & Mules Salad Dressing Explosives Waterproofing Fish Ponds Poultry Shortening Pharmaceuticals Rubber Swine Margarine Food Preparations Plastics Fish Packing Oil (sardines, etc.) Cosmetics Chemical Feed Stock Baking & Frying Oils Shrimp LIVESTOCK Fungicides Carrier for Agricultural Sprays FEED Finishes Insecticides HULLS FEED MULCH & SOIL CONDITIONER BRAN POULTRY OIL WELL DRILLING MUD FURFURAL Beef Cattle Livestock Feed Synthetic Rubber Dairy Cattle Petroleum Refining Sheep & Goats Plastics Horses & Mules LINTERS DISSOLVING PULP FELTS YARNS ABSORBENT Automotive Upholstery, Pads, Lamp & Candle Wicks COTTON MEDICAL CELLULOSE NITRATE VISCOSE Cushions, Furniture Upholstery, Twine GRADE Plastics Comforters, Mattresses Rugs Cotton Swabs FIBER PULP Mops Cotton Balls Dynamite Gauze Pads Lacquers – Fingernail Polish CELLULOSE ESTERS CELLULOSE ACETATE Papers PAPERS Smokeless Gunpowder & ETHERS Solid Rocket Propellants PLASTICS Fine Writing Paper Lacquers FILMS YARNS Filter Papers FOOD CASINGS Pharmaceutical Emulsions Outdoor Signs Photographic Clothing Document & Bologna Hair Care Products Toiletware Packaging Household Fabrics Security Papers— Cosmetics Sausages Windshields Envelope Windows Currency Paint Tool Handles Clear Sheet Protectors Laminating Papers Frankfurters Toothpaste RAYON Automotive Parts Recording Tapes Sanitary Products Ice Cream Electrical Equipment Transparent Tape Battery Separators Air Hose Salad Dressings Pen & Pencil Barrels X-Ray Film Industrial Fabrics Novelty Items Article and table source: National Cottonseed Products Association..