"Olive oil comes from olives, peanut oil from peanuts, sunflower oil from sunflowers, but what is a canola? Is it hazardous to our health?"

What is Canola?

Canola is a type of edible oil derived from plants initially bred in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur Stefansson in the 1970s. The oil is extracted from a group of cultivars of rapeseed variants from which low erucic acid rapeseed oil and low glucosinolate meal are obtained. The word "canola" was derived from "Canadian oil, low acid" in 1978. The oil is also known as "LEAR" oil (for Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed).

• Canola is a special type of oilseed rape that has less than 2% erucic acid in the oil.
• This allows canola oil to be used as cooking oil and the meal as a high quality protein for livestock.
• In 1985, the FDA ruled that rapeseed oil (Canola) is safe for human consumption.
• Canola oil contains 6 percent saturated fat, the lowest level of any available vegetable oil.
• The United States currently imports 2 million acres of production each year.

Figure 2. U.S. Canola Acreage - 1998-2005

Yes. Before being approved for food use, canola oil was required to go through stringent animal feeding trials to ensure it was safe edible oil. And a great deal of research has been done which shows the benefits of incorporating canola oil into human diets.

Was canola developed using genetic engineering?

Canola was developed using traditional plant breeding techniques, so it was not developed using biotechnology. However, about 80% of the canola grown in Canada has now been modified using biotechnology to make it tolerant to some herbicides. Using these specific herbicides has reduced the amount of chemical needed for weed control in the fields.

Remember - the canola plant has been modified, not the oil. So, canola oil from the herbicide tolerant plant is exactly the same safe and healthy oil as canola oil from conventional plants. The modification has been made to only one canola gene and it is a protein. Processing removes all proteins from canola oil. That means canola oil made from GM seed is conventional canola oil.

Does canola oil cause emphysema, respiratory distress, anaemia, constipation, irritability, and blindness in animals and humans?

No. After extensive animal and human testing, canola oil has been proven to be absolutely safe to consume and will not produce these or any other diseases or conditions.

References
http://www.canola.okstate.edu/cropproduction/backgroundbenefits/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola
http://www.canola-council.org/canola_oil_the_truth.aspx

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