Is it possible to have the cake and eat it too when it comes to BT cotton? By: Razan Alhaj, Jaycee Nguyen, Sarah Ronquillo and Sharissa Soriano March 24, 2014 Worldwide - As many as can Know that BT Cotton is a cotton plant that has been genetically modified to produce a toxin known as BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), d 'hence the name BT Cotton. Normally, cotton is grown in the plant's small green buds, known as the boll, and once ripe, the buds bloom to reveal the cotton fibers, but many farmers struggle to protect their cotton from invasions insects such as the bollworm. The bollworm is an insect that burrows into the boll of the cotton plant as a form of shelter and nutrients. This modification prevents insect invasion because the cotton plant can now produce the toxin itself, so once the bollworm attempts to burrow into the boll it will be exposed to the toxin, resulting in death. The Good – Genetically modified cotton cultivation has become very popular. in countries like India, China, Argentina, South Africa, Australia, Mexico, Colombia and even the United States. Many BT cotton farmers agree on the positive benefits such as higher cotton fiber yield with each harvest, due to the lack of pest infestation. Research carried out in China in 2004 may also agree, as due to the increase in BT cotton production, there has been an associated decrease in pesticide use, directly linked to a significant decrease in the number of hospitalizations and deaths of cotton farmers due to pesticide poisoning. . Another more recent research done in China in 2012 documented what they call a "halo effect", or positive side effect of BT cotton, namely the effect it had on pink bollworms in non-genetically modified cotton. Stud...... middle of paper ......):1222-35. doi: 10.1111/eva.12099. Online publication September 17, 2013. March 21, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24478804.NA Genetically modified cotton crops. GMO compass. Dec 4 , Feitelson J, Zeigler DR, Dean DH. Bacillus thuringiensis and its pesticidal crystal proteins. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 1998 September;62(3):775-806. March 21, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9729609.Wan P, Huang Y, Tabashnik BE, Huang M, Wu K. The halo effect: removing the pink worm from the capsule on non-Bt cotton by Bt cotton in China. PLoS Un. 2012;7(7):e42004. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0042004. Online publication July 27, 2012. March 21, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22848685.