Canola
Brassica napus
Most of us are familiar with canola oil on the shelf in the grocery store. Although the fields of endless yellow flowers that precede the seed that will be pressed to make the oil are beautiful to look at and the plant is produced globally, there is great controversy over this plant’s presence in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon is one of the world’s leading vegetable seed production regions, and the presence of thousands of acres of genetically modified canola seed is a serious threat to the maintenance of breeding lines we depend on to eat.
Image by Michael Obeysekera
Related Resources
Specialty Seed Crops in Oregon's Willamette Valley Under Threat (YouTube) with Philomath plant breeder Frank Morton of Wild Garden Seed.
Civil Eats’ article on Oregon’s Seed War: Can Vegetable Crops and Canola Coexist in the Seed Capitol of America?
3-minute NPR segment titled Genetically Modified Canola 'Escapes' Farm Fields
Traditional Mustard Oil Making Process (YouTube)—Made In Local
Canola is short for “Canada oil,” also known as rape seed, a word that’s close to “rapini",” the flowering stalks of Brassica plants, but is generally no longer used. Read more, 'Land of rape and honey': Canada town reconsiders slogan after 55 years
Canola oil was developed by Canadian breeders in the 1960’s through traditional breeding practices in an effort to breed out the pungent sulfurous compounds that were at such levels that could be unhealthy for consumption in high quantities. Because of this, it was generally used as lamp oil or as a mechanical lubricant, and didn’t become the most ubiquitous vegetable oil on the shelf until later. “Canola is a term trademarked and licensed by the Canadian Canola Council to differentiate the plant, oil and meal from traditional rapeseed. The strict definition is that canola oil must have less than 2% erucic acid” —Canola: a Canadian success story
