The Origin Of Canola

In 1956, the nutritional value of rapeseed oil was called into question, owing to its high quotient of undesirable eicosenoic and erucic fatty acids. Canadian plant breeders responded by creating strains of rapeseed with low amounts of these undesired substances. The Canadian Health and Welfare Department recommended industry-wide conversion to the new strains, and agribusiness leadership responded with voluntary limits on erucic acid in oil products effective December 1, 1973. Around the same time, animal nutritionists raised concerns about the sharp-tasting, anti-nutritive glucosinolates that were undermining the utility of Canola meal (the byproduct left over from oil extraction) as animal feed.

In 1974, Dr. Baldur Stefansson of the University of Manitoba developed the first "double low" variety of rapeseed, which had reduced levels of both erucic acid and glucosinolates. Bred from the Brassica napus strain and named Tower, this was the first strain of the crop to meet the standards now used to distinguish Canola from rapeseed.

Each Canola plant produces yellow flowers, which, in turn, produce pods similar in shape to pea pods but about one-fifth the size. Within the pods are tiny round seeds that are crushed to obtain Canola oil. Each seed is approximately 40% oil. The remainder of the seed is processed into Canola meal, which until now has been used primarily as a high-protein livestock feed.

The Canola variety of rapeseed is grown primarily in Europe, Western Canada, the north central and southeastern United States, and Australia. Since its development in Canada, Canola has become a truly worldwide crop, and today Canadian-grown Canola accounts for only 20% of world rapeseed production. The rest of the world's Canola is produced in China, Europe and India, where the crop continues to be known by its traditional name of oilseed rape or rapeseed.