Gossypol sounds like the name of a Welsh village or, perhaps, an ineffective Eastern European intelligence agency. It is, in fact, the toxin that makes cottonseed inedible to humans. Rich in protein and energy, cotton bolls end up as animal feed once mankind has harvested its fiber. A new growing method in under development that controls the dangerous ingredient’s formation. As 44m tons of cotton are baled a year, the researchers claim their new strain could feed 500m people were it to become widely adopted.

would create a high-protein bean suitable for consumption. although iirc, cotton plantations really deplete the soil.

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