The Great Con-ola

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The Great Con-ola

http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/conola.html

By Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD

Canola oil is " widely recognized as the healthiest salad and cooking oil

available to consumers. " It was developed through hybridization of rape seed.

Rape

seed oil is toxic because it contains significant amounts of a poisonous

substance called erucic acid. Canola oil contains only trace amounts of erucic

acid and its unique fatty acid profile, rich in oleic acid and low in saturated

fats, makes it particularly beneficial for the prevention of heart disease. It

also contains significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, also shown to have

health benefits. This is what the food industry says about canola oil.

 

Canola oil is a poisonous substance, an industrial oil that does not belong

in the body. It contains " the infamous chemical warfare agent mustard gas, "

hemagglutinins and toxic cyanide-containing glycocides; it causes mad cow

disease, blindness, nervous disorders, clumping of blood cells and depression of

the

immune system. This is what detractors say about canola oil.

 

How is the consumer to sort out the conflicting claims about canola oil? Is

canola oil a dream come true or a deadly poison? And why has canola captured so

large a share of the oils used in processed foods?

 

HIDDEN HISTORY

 

Let's start with some history. The time period is the mid-1980s and the food

industry has a problem. In collusion with the American Heart Association,

numerous government agencies and departments of nutrition at major universities,

the industry had been promoting polyunsaturated oils as a heart-healthy

alternative to " artery-clogging " saturated fats. Unfortunately, it had become

increasingly clear that polyunsaturated oils, particularly corn oil and soybean

oil,

cause numerous health problems, including and especially cancer.1

 

The industry was in a bind. It could not continue using large amounts of

liquid polyunsaturated oils and make health claims about them in the face of

mounting evidence of their dangers. Nor could manufacturers return to using

traditional healthy saturates--butter, lard, tallow, palm oil and coconut

oil--without causing an uproar. Besides, these fats cost too much for the

cut-throat

profit margins in the industry.

 

The solution was to embrace the use of monounsaturated oils, such as olive

oil. Studies had shown that olive oil has a " better " effect than polyunsaturated

oils on cholesterol levels and other blood parameters. Besides, Ancel Keys

and other promoters of the diet-heart idea had popularized the notion that the

Mediterranean diet--rich in olive oil and conjuring up images of a carefree

existence on sun-drenched islands--protected against heart disease and ensured a

long and healthy life.

 

 

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) sponsored the First

Colloquium on Monounsaturates in Philadelphia. The meeting was chaired by Scott

Grundy, a prolific writer and apologist for the notion that cholesterol and

animal fats cause heart disease. Representatives from the edible oil industry,

including Unilever, were in attendance. The Second Colloquium on Monounsaturates

took place in Bethesda, Maryland, early in 1987. Dr. Grundy was joined by

Claude Lenfant, head of the NHLBI, and speakers included Fred Mattson, who had

spent many years at Proctor and Gamble, and the Dutch scientist Martign Katan,

who would later publish research on the problems with trans fatty acids. It was

at this time that articles extolling the virtues of olive oil began to appear

in the popular press.

 

Promotion of olive oil, which had a long history of use, seemed more

scientifically sound to the health-conscious consumer than the promotion of corn

and

soy oil, which could only be extracted with modern stainless steel presses. The

problem for the industry was that there was not enough olive oil in the world

to meet its needs. And, like butter and other traditional fats, olive oil was

too expensive to use in most processed foods. The industry needed a less

expensive monounsaturated oil.

 

Rapeseed oil was a monounsaturated oil that had been used extensively in many

parts of the world, notably in China, Japan and India. It contains almost 60

percent monounsaturated fatty acids (compared to about 70 percent in olive

oil). Unfortunately, about two-thirds of the mono-unsaturated fatty acids in

rapeseed oil are erucic acid, a 22-carbon monounsaturated fatty acid that had

been

associated with Keshan's disease, characterized by fibrotic lesions of the

heart. In the late 1970s, using a technique of genetic manipulation involving

seed splitting,2 Canadian plant breeders came up with a variety of rapeseed that

produced a monounsaturated oil low in 22-carbon erucic acid and high in

18-carbon oleic acid.

 

The new oil referred to as LEAR oil, for Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed, was slow

to catch on in the US. In 1986, Cargill announced the sale of LEAR oil seed to

US farmers and provided LEAR oil processing at its Riverside, North Dakota

plant but prices dropped and farmers took a hit.3

 

MARKETING LEAR

 

Before LEAR oil could be promoted as a healthy alternative to polyunsaturated

oils, it needed a new name. Neither " rape " nor " lear " could be expected to

invoke a healthy image for the new " Cinderella " crop. In 1978, the industry

settled on " canola, " for " Canadian oil, " since most of the new rapeseed at that

time was grown in Canada. " Canola " also sounded like " can do " and " payola, " both

positive phrases in marketing lingo. However, the new name did not come into

widespread use until the early 1990s.

 

An initial challenge for the Canola Council of Canada was the fact that

rapeseed was never given GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status by the US

Food

and Drug Administration. A change in regulation would be necessary before

canola could be marketed in the US.4 Just how this was done has not been

revealed,

but GRAS status was granted in 1985, for which, it is rumored, the Canadian

government spent $50 million to obtain.

 

Since canola was aimed at the growing numbers of health-conscious consumers,

rather than the junk food market, it required more subtle marketing techniques

than television advertising. The industry had managed to manipulate the

science to make a perfect match with canola oil--very low in saturated fat and

rich

in monounsaturates. In addition, canola oil contains about 10 percent omega-3

fatty acids, the most recent discovery of establishment nutritionists. Most

Americans are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, which had been shown to be

beneficial to the heart and immune system. The challenge was to market this

dream-come-true fatty acid profile in a way that would appeal to educated

consumers.

 

 

Canola oil began to appear in the recipes of cutting edge health books, such

as those by Andrew Weil and Barry Sears. The technique was to extol the

virtues of the Mediterranean diet and olive oil in the text, and then call for

" olive oil or canola oil " in the recipes. One informant in the publishing

industry

told us that since the mid 1990s, major publishers would not accept cookbooks

unless they included canola in the recipes.

 

In 1997, Harper Collins engaged Dr. Artemis Simopoulos to write a cookbook

featuring the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.5 Dr. Simopoulos was a

pediatrician who had served for nine years as chair of the Nutritional

Coordinating Committee of the National Institutes of Health before becoming

president of

the Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health. She had published several

papers on omega-3 fatty acids, calling attention to their disappearance from the

food supply due to the industrialization of agriculture. Her most famous paper,

published in 1992 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, compared

omega-3 levels in supermarket eggs from hens raised on corn with eggs from hens

allowed to roam and eat a more varied diet.6 The more natural eggs contained

twenty times more omega-3 than supermarket eggs.

 

Simopoulos's The Omega Plan came out in 1998 and was reissued as The Omega

Diet in 1999. The book discusses the virtues of monounsaturated and omega-3

fatty acids in the Mediterranean diet.7 Since unprocessed canola oil contains

not

only lots of monoun-saturated fatty acids, but also a significant amount of

omega-3, it shows up in most of the book's recipes. Simopoulos claims that the

Mediterranean diet is low in saturated fat and recommends lean meat and lowfat

yoghurt and milk as part of her regime.

 

The canola industry's approach-- scientific conferences, promotion to upscale

consumers through books like The Omega Diet and articles in the health

section of newspapers and magazines--was successful. By the late 1990s, canola

use

had soared, and not just in the US. Today China, Japan, Europe, Mexico,

Bangladesh and Pakistan all buy significant amounts. Canola does well in arid

environments such as Australia and the Canadian plains, where it has become a

major

cash crop. It is the oil of choice in gourmet and health food markets like

Fresh Fields (Whole Foods) markets, and shows up in many supermarket items as

well. It is a commonly used oil in sterol-containing margarines and spreads

recommended for cholesterol lowering. Use of hydrogenated canola oil for frying

is

increasing, especially in restaurants.

 

DANGERS OVERSTATED

 

Reports on the dangers of rapeseed oil are rampant on the internet, mostly

stemming from an article, " Blindness, Mad Cow Disease and Canola Oil, " by John

Thomas, which appeared in Perceptions magazine, March/April 1996. Some of the

claims are ludicrous. Although rape is a member of the brassica or mustard

family, it is not the source of mustard gas used in chemical warfare.

 

Glycosides or glycosinolates (compounds that produce sugars on hydrolysis)

are found in most members of the brassica family, including broccoli, kale,

cabba

ge and mustard greens. They contain sulfur (not arsenic), which is what gives

mustard and cruciferous vegetables their pungent flavor. These compounds are

goitrogenic and must be neutralized by cooking or fermentation. As rapeseed

meal was high in glycosides, it could not be used in large amounts for animal

feeding. However, plant breeders have been able to breed out the glycosides as

well as the erucic acid from canola oil.8 The result is a low-glycoside meal

that can be used as an animal feed. In fact, canola meal for animal feed is an

important Canadian export.

 

Hemagglutinins, substances that promote blood clotting and depress growth,

are found in the protein portion of the seed, although traces may show up in the

oil. And canola oil was not the cause of the mad cow epidemic in Britain9,

although feeding of canola oil may make cattle more susceptible to certain

diseases.

 

Like all fats and oils, rapeseed oil has industrial uses. It can be used as

an insecticide, a lubricant, a fuel and in soap, synthetic rubber and ink. Like

flax oil and walnut oil, it can be used to make varnish. Traditional fats

like coconut oil, olive oil and tallow also have industrial uses, but that does

not make them dangerous for human consumption.

 

We have had reports of allergies to canola, and internet articles describe a

variety of symptoms--tremors, shaking, palsy, lack of coordination, slurred

speech, memory problems, blurred vision, problems with urination, numbness and

tingling in the extremities, and heart arrhythmias--that cleared up on

discontinuance of canola. None of this has been reported in the medical

journals,

however. Writing for the Washington Post, Professor Robert L. Wolke (www.

professorscience.com) chastises the publishers of these reports as spreading

" hysterical urban legends about bizarre diseases. " 10 The industry actually

profits from

such wild claims, because they are wrong and easily dismissed.

 

Nevertheless, consumers do have reason to be cautious about the

establishment's favorite oil, now showing up in an increasing number of

products.

 

THE STUDIES

 

Says Wolke: " I found no research studies indicating that today's

low-erucic-acid canola oil, as distinguished from ordinary rapeseed oil, is

harmful to

humans. " That's because, even though canola oil now has Generally Recognized as

Safe (GRAS) status, no long-term studies on humans have been done.

 

Animal studies on Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed oil were performed when the oil

was first developed and have continued to the present. The results challenge not

only the health claims made for canola oil, but also the theoretical

underpinnings of the diet-heart hypothesis.

 

The first published studies on the new oil were performed in 1978 at the

Unilever research facility in the Netherlands.11 The industry was naturally

interested to know whether the new LEAR oil caused heart lesions in test

animals. In

earlier studies, animals fed high-erucic-acid rape seed oil showed growth

retardation and undesirable changes in various organs, especially the heart, a

discovery that touched off the so-called " erucic acid crisis " and spurred plant

geneticists to develop new versions of the seed. The results of the LEAR study

were mixed. Rats genetically selected to be prone to heart lesions developed

more lesions on the LEAR oil and the flax oil, than those on olive oil or

sunflower oil, leading researchers to speculate that the omega-3 fatty acids

(not

erucic acid) in LEAR and flax oil might be the culprit. But rats genetically

selected to be resistant to heart lesions showed no significant difference

between the four oils tested and LEAR oil did not cause heart problems in mice,

in

contrast to high-erucic oil which induced severe cardiac necrosis.

 

In 1979, researchers at the Canadian Institute for Food Science and

Technology pooled the results of 23 experiments involving rats at four

independent

laboratories. All looked at the effects of LEAR and other oils on the incidence

of

heart lesions. They found that saturated fats (palmitic and stearic acids)

were protective against heart lesions but that high levels of omega-3 fatty

acids correlated with high levels of lesions. They found a lesser correlation

with

heart lesions and erucic acid.12

 

In 1982, the same research group published a paper that looked at the

interaction of saturated fats with LEAR oil and soybean oil. When saturated fats

in

the form of cocoa butter were added to the diets, the rats in both groups had

better growth and a significant lowering of heart lesions. Said the authors:

" These results support the hypothesis that myocardial lesions in male rats are

related to the balance of dietary fatty acids and not to cardiotoxic

contaminants in the oils. " 13

 

Canadian researchers looked at LEAR oils again in 1997. They found that

piglets fed milk replacement containing canola oil showed signs of vitamin E

deficiency, even though the milk replacement contained adequate amounts of

vitamin

E.14 Piglets fed soybean oil-based milk replacement fortified with the same

amount of vitamin E did not show an increased requirement for vitamin E. Vitamin

E protects cell membranes against free radical damage and is vital to a

healthy cardiovascular system. In a 1998 paper, the same research group reported

that piglets fed canola oil suffered from a decrease in platelet count and an

increase in platelet size.15 Bleeding time was longer in piglets fed both canola

oil and rapeseed oil. These changes were mitigated by the addition of

saturated fatty acids from either cocoa butter or coconut oil to the piglets'

diet.

These results were confirmed in another study a year later. Canola oil was found

to suppress the normal developmental increase in platelet count.16

 

Finally, studies carried out at the Health Research and Toxicology Research

Divisions in Ottawa, Canada discovered that rats bred to have high blood

pressure and proneness to stroke had shortened life-spans when fed canola oil as

the

sole source of fat.17 The results of a later study suggested that the culprit

was the sterol compounds in the oil, which " make the cell membrane more

rigid " and contribute to the shortened life-span of the animals.18

 

These studies all point in the same direction--that canola oil is definitely

not healthy for the cardiovascular system. Like rapeseed oil, its predecessor,

canola oil is associated with fibrotic lesions of the heart. It also causes

vitamin E deficiency, undesirable changes in the blood platelets and shortened

life-span in stroke-prone rats when it was the only oil in the animals' diet.

Furthermore, it seems to retard growth, which is why the FDA does not allow

the use of canola oil in infant formula.19 When saturated fats are added to the

diet, the undesirable effects of canola oil are mitigated. Most interesting of

all is the fact that many studies show that the problems with canola oil are

not related to the content of erucic acid, but more with the high levels of

omega-3 fatty acids and low levels of saturated fats.

 

RAPESEED OIL IN TRADITIONAL DIETS

 

Rapeseed oil has been used in China, Japan and India for thousands of years.

In areas where there is a selenium deficiency, use of rapeseed oil has been

associated with a high incidence of fibrotic lesions of the heart, called

Keshan's disease.20 The animal studies carried out over the past twenty years

suggest that when rapeseed oil is used in impoverished human diets, without

adequately saturated fats from ghee, coconut oil or lard, then the deleterious

effects

are magnified. In the context of healthy traditional diets that include

saturated fats, rapeseed oil, and in particular erucic acid in rapeseed oil,

does

not pose a problem. In fact, erucic acid is helpful in the treatment of the

wasting disease adrenoleukodystrophy and was the magic ingredient in Lorenzo's

oil.

 

High levels of omega-3 fatty acids, present in unprocessed rapeseed oil,

don't pose a problem either when the diet is high in saturates. A 1998 study

indicates that diets with adequate saturated fats help the body convert omega-3

fatty acids into the long-chain versions EPA and DHA, which is what the body

wants to do with most of the 18-carbon omega-3s.21 Conversion is reduced by

40-50

percent in diets lacking in saturated fats and high in omega-6 fatty acids

from commercial vegetable oils (particularly soybean oil). In the animal studies

on canola oil, dietary saturated fats mitigated the harmful effects of

omega-3s.

 

A 1995 Wall Street Journal article reported that use of rapeseed oil in

cooking was associated with greatly increased rates of lung cancer in the women

breathing the fumes.22 Once again, a lack of saturates in the diet may explain

the association, because the lungs can't work without adequate saturated fats.23

In India, rapeseed oil has been used as a cooking oil for thousands of years,

but only recently have Indian housewives been cajoled into the belief that

saturated butter and ghee should be avoided. Many now use vanispati, an

imitation ghee made of partially hydrogenated soybean oil.

 

PROCESSING

 

Rapeseed has been used as a source of oil since ancient times because it is

easily extracted from the seed. Interestingly, the seeds were first cooked

before the oil is extracted. In China and India, rapeseed oil was provided by

thousands of peddlers operating small stone presses that press out the oil at

low

temperatures. What the merchant then sells to the housewife is absolutely

fresh.

 

Modern oil processing is a different thing entirely. The oil is removed by a

combination of high temperature mechanical pressing and solvent extraction.

Traces of the solvent (usually hexane) remain in the oil, even after

considerable refining. Like all modern vegetable oils, canola oil goes through

the

process of caustic refining, bleaching and degumming--all of which involve high

temperatures or chemicals of questionable safety. And because canola oil is high

in omega-3 fatty acids, which easily become rancid and foul-smelling when

subjected to oxygen and high temperatures, it must be deodorized. The standard

deodorization process removes a large portion of the omega-3 fatty acids by

turning them into trans fatty acids. Although the Canadian government lists the

trans content of canola at a minimal 0.2 percent, research at the University of

Florida at Gainesville, found trans levels as high as 4.6 percent in commercial

liquid oil.24 The consumer has no clue about the presence of trans fatty acids

in canola oil because they are not listed on the label.

 

A large portion of canola oil used in processed food has been hardened

through the hydrogenation process, which introduces levels of trans fatty acids

into

the final product as high as 40 percent.25 In fact, canola oil hydrogenates

beautifully, better than corn oil or soybean oil, because modern hydrogenation

methods hydrogenate omega-3 fatty acids preferentially and canola oil is very

high in omega-3s. Higher levels of trans mean longer shelf life for processed

foods, a crisper texture in cookies and crackers--and more dangers of chronic

disease for the consumer.26

 

FLOW CHART FOR EDIBLE OIL PROCESSING

 

 

THE MYTH OF MONOUNSATURATES

 

Consumer acceptance of canola oil represents one in a series of victories for

the food processing industry, which has as its goal the replacement of all

traditional foods with imitation foods made out of products derived from corn,

wheat, soybeans and oil seeds. Canola oil came to the rescue when the promotion

of polyunsaturated corn and soybean oils had become more and more untenable.

Scientists could endorse canola oil in good conscience because it was a

" heart-healthy " oil, low in saturated fat, high in monounsaturates and a good

source

of omega-3 fatty acids.

 

But most of the omega-3s in canola oil are transformed into trans fats during

the deodorization process; and research continues to prove that the saturates

are necessary and highly protective.

 

At least it can be said that canola oil is a good source of monounsaturated

fat--like olive oil--and therefore not harmful. . . Or is it? Obviously

monounsaturated fatty acids are not harmful in moderate amounts in the context

of a

traditional diet, but what about in the context of the modern diet, where the

health-conscious community is relying on monounsaturated fats almost

exclusively? There are indications that monounsaturated fats in excess and as

the major

type of fat can be a problem. Overabundance of oleic acid (the type of

monounsaturated fatty acid in olive and canola oil) creates imbalances on the

cellular level that can inhibit prostaglandin production.27 In one study, higher

monounsaturated fat consumption was associated with an increased risk of breast

cancer.28

 

Even the dogma that monounsaturated fatty acids are good for the heart is at

risk. According to a 1998 report, mice fed a diet containing monounsaturated

fats were more likely to develop atherosclerosis than mice fed a diet

containing saturated fat.29 In fact, the mice fed monounsaturated fats were even

more

prone to heart disease than those fed polyunsaturated fatty acids.

 

This means that the type of diet recommended in books like The Omega

Diet--low in protective saturates, bolstered with high levels of omega-3 fatty

acids

and relying on monounsaturated fatty acids, whether from olive or canola oil,

for the majority of fat calories--may actually contribute to heart disease.

Such diets have been presented with great marketing finesse, but we need to

recognize them for what they are--payola for the food companies and con-ola for

the

public.

 

References

 

MG Enig and SW Fallon. The Oiling of America.

RK Downey. Genetic Control of Fatty Acid Biosnythesis in Rapeseed. Journal of

the American Oil Chemists Society, 1964;41:475-478.

Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, December 1986;63(12):1510.

Canola - a new oilseed from Canada. Journal of the American Oil Chemists'

Society, September 1981:723A-9A.

The amount of the advance was $350,000. Personal email communication, Jo

Robinson, co-author of The Omega Diet.

AP Simopoulos and N Salem, Jr. Egg yolk as a source of long-chain

polyunsaturated fatty acids in infant feeding. American Journal of Clinical

Nutrition,

1992;55

AP Simopoulos and J Robinson. The Omega Plan. Harper Collins Publishers, New

York, NY, 1998.

Canola - a new oilseed fromCanada. Journal of the American Oil Chemists'

Society, September 1981:723A-9A.

M Purdey. Educating Rida. Wise Traditions, Spring 2002;3(1):11-18.

When we contacted Dr. Wolke to provide him with evidence of canola dangers,

he was dismissive.

RO Vles and others. Nutritional Evaluation of Low-Erucic-Acid Rapeseed Oils.

Toxicological Aspects of Food Safety, Archives of Toxicology, Supplement 1,

1978:23-32

HL Trenholm and others. An Evaluation of the Relationship of Deitary Fatty

Acids to Incidence of Myocardial Lesions in Male Rats. Canadian Institute of

Food Science Technology Journal, October 1979;12(4):189-193

JKG Kramer and others. Reduction of Myocardial Necrosis in Male Albino Rats

by Manipulation of Dietary Fatty Acid Levels. Lipids, 1982;17(5):372-382.

FD Sauer and others. Additional vitamin E required in milk replacer diets

that contain canola oil. Nutrition Research, 1997;17(2):259-269.

JK Kramer and others. Hematological and lipid changes in newborn piglets fed

milk-replacer diets containing erucic acid. Lipids, January 1998;33(1):1-10.

SM Iunis and RA Dyer. Dietary canola oil alters hematological indices and

blood lipids in neonatal piglets fed formula. Journal of Nutrition, July

1999;129(7):1261-8.

WMN Ratnayake and others. Influence of Sources of Dietary Oils on the Life

Span of Stroke-Prone Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats. Lipids,

2000;35(4):409-420.

MN Wallsundera and others. Vegetable Oils High in Phytosterols Make

Erythrocytes Less Deformable and Shorten the Life Span of Stroke-Prone

Spontaneously

Hypertensive Rats. Journal of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences,

May, 2000;130(5):1166-78

Federal Register, 1985.

OA Levander and MA Beck. Selenium and viral virulence. British Medical

Bulletin, 1999;55(3):528-33.

H Gerster. Can adults adequately convert alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) to

eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3)?

International Journal of Vitamin and Nutrition Research 1998;68(3):159-73.

Wall Street Journal, June 7, 1995, p. B6.

MG Enig. Benefits of Saturated Fats. Wise Traditions, Summer 2000;1(2):49.

S O'Keefe and others. Levels of Trans Geometrical Isomers of Essential Fatty

Acids in Some Unhydrogenated US Vegetable Oils. Journal of Food Lipids

1994;1:165-176.

JL Sebedio and WW Christie, eds. Trans Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition, The

Oily Press, Dundee, Scotland, 1998, pp 49-50.

MG Enig, Trans Fatty Acids in the Food Supply: A Comprehensive Report

Covering 60 Years of Research, 2nd Edition, Enig Associates, Inc., Silver

Spring, MD,

1995.

Horrobin, David F, Prostaglandins: Physiology, Pharmacology and Clinical

Significance, The Book Press, Brattleboro, Vermont, 1978, p 20, 35

V Pala and others. Erythrocyte membrane fatty acids and subsequent breast

cancer: a prospective Italian study. Journal of the National Cancer Institute,

July 18, 2001;93(14):1088-95.

LL Rudel and others. Dietary monounsaturated fatty acids promote aortic

atherosclerosis in LDL-receptor-null, human ApoB100-overexpressing transgenic

mice.

Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, November

1998;18(11):1818-27. SIDEBAR ARTICLES

 

FATTY ACIDS

 

SATURATED FATTY ACIDS are chains of carbon atoms that have hydrogen filling

every bond. In foods, they normally range in length from 4 to 22 carbons.

Because of their straight configuration, saturated fatty acids pack together

easily

and tend to be solid at room temperature. Butter, tallows, suet, palm oil and

coconut oil are classified as saturated fats because they contain a

preponderance of saturated fatty acids. Saturated fats are stable and do not

become

rancid when subjected to heat, as in cooking.

 

MONOUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS are chains of carbon atoms that have one double

bond between two carbons and therefore lack two hydrogens. Normally they range

from 16 to 22 carbons. They have a kink or bend at the position of the double

bond so the molecules do not pack together as easily as saturated fatty acids.

Monounsaturated oils tend to be liquid at room temperature but become solid

when refrigerated. Olive oil, peanut oil, lard, rapeseed and canola oils are

classified as monounsaturated oils. The most common monounsaturated fatty acids

are palmitoleic (16 carbons), oleic (18 carbons) and erucic (22 carbons).

Monounsaturated oils are relatively stable and can be used for cooking.

 

POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS have two or more double bonds. As there is a bend

or kink at each double bond, these fatty acids do not pack together easily

and tend to be liquid, even when cold. Polyunsaturated oils are very fragile.

They tend to develop harmful free radicals when subjected to heat and oxygen, as

in cooking or processing. Soybean oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil and flax

oil are polyunsaturated oils. Omega-6 fatty acids have the first double bond

at the 6th carbon from the end of the fatty acid chain. The most common omega-6

fatty acid is linoleic acid, which is called an essential fatty acid (EFA)

because your body cannot make it. Omega-3 fatty acids have the first double bond

at the 3rd carbon. The most common omega-3 fatty acid is the EFA

alpha-linolenic acid. The consensus among lipid experts is that the American

diet is too

high in omega-6 fatty acids (present in high amounts in commercial vegetable

oils) and lacking in omega-3 fatty acids (which are present in organ meats, wild

fish, pastured egg yolks, organic vegetables and flax oil). Surfeit of

omega-6 fatty acids and deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids has been shown to

depress

immune system function, contribute to weight gain and cause inflammation.

 

SOYBEAN OIL VERSUS RAPESEED OIL IN INDIA

 

While canola oil is displacing soybean oil in many American processed foods,

soybean oil is displacing traditional rapeseed oil in India. In her book

Stolen Harvest, Indian author Vandana Shiva describes how American industrially

processed soy oil replaced traditional seed oils in a large part of India. Each

region in India has its specific edible oil used for cooking. In the North and

East it is rapeseed oil, in the West it is peanut oil, in the Deccan it is

sesame and in Kerala it is coconut. In India, rapeseed or mustard oil was

traditionally sold in small quantities, extracted as needed with a small oil

press or

ghanis. Oil processing provided employment for thousands of artisans and

ensured that the housewife had a fresh product. The oil cake was then fed to

cattle (with no apparent negative effects). Mustard oil also served as mosquito

repellent and as a nonpolluting oil in lamps.

 

Within a few months after the advent of " free trade " for soybean oil into

India, thousands of Indians fell ill with " dropsy " due to a mysterious

adulteration of rapeseed oil. The government banned the sale of all unpackaged

edible

oils, thus ensuring an end to all household and community-level oil processing.

Edible oil production became fully industrialized and local processing became

a criminal act. Thousands of workers were dispossessed of their livelihood and

millions of Indians were dispossessed of a healthy oil. Cheap, highly

processed soy oil immediately replaced rapeseed oil in the markets. During the

crisis, the US Soybean Association pushed for soybean imports as the " solution. "

" US

farmers need big new export markets. . . " reporte one business publication.

" India is a perfect match. " Growth was achieved by theft of an important part

of the small-scale local economy.

 

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CANOLA

 

The first seed oil to be created through genetic manipulation, canola is also

the focus of a variety of genetic engineering (GMO) projects