Most people read their labels when buying food at the grocery store.
Some things consumers want to see in their ingredient list, others they don't.
Whole wheat should be listed first, but you don't want to see artificial sweeteners or other chemicals.
Consumers know a lot about what is on their labels.
But some things we don't even suspect.
Like cottonseed oil.
Have you ever heard of it? Did you ever notice it on your food label? I didn't.
When I was researching organic cotton for clothing I found out some interesting facts about cotton and food and to my surprise found it on many food labels.
And here's what everyone should know.
Cotton is not regulated like a food product, even though we consume it, because cotton is primarily used for clothing.
Cottonseed oil, cotton seed and cotton straw are all used as food.
Cotton seed and cotton straw are fed to diary and beef cattle - which enters the human food chain in obvious ways.
Cottonseed oil is consumed by people directly in many processed foods, including tortillas, honey roasted peanuts, cookies and chocolate turtles and used as an alternative cooking oil.
This is disturbing because cotton is heavily treated with pesticides (herbicides, fungicides and insecticides) and synthetic fertilizers.
The U.
S.
grows about 14 million acres of cotton a year, which accounts for around 20% of the worlds supply.
In 2000, farmers in the main U.
S.
cotton growing states used over 75 million pounds of pesticides on cotton.
The World Health Organization estimates that 20,000 cotton workers die yearly from contamination.
It can't be good for us.
Just like strawberries, peaches, and grapes, organic is the best way to eat them.
Fruits and vegetable are essential to our diets but who wants to eat them loaded with chemicals? You shouldn't eat cottonseed oil loaded with chemicals either.
And you are going to get more chemicals in cottonseed oil than other food products because it is not regulated for consumption.
So here you are, reading labels, trying to be conscious of what you bring home to your family, never realizing that many foods secretly contain chemicals you would not knowingly buy or eat.
And while cottonseed oil may be a zero trans fat vegetable oil, when it's loaded with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers it loses its healthy appeal.
I no longer purchase foods with cottonseed oil on the label.
And now you have the power to make an informed decision too.
In the end it would be best if cotton was just grown organically.
Then it really could be a healthy choice.