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Rapeseed was once considered a specialty crop in Canada, but Canola
now has become a major American cash crop. Canada and the United
States produce between 7 and *0 million tonnes of canola seed per
year. Annual Canadian exports total 3 to 4 million tonnes of the
seed, **0,**0 tonnes of canola oil and 1 million tonnes of canola
meal. GM canola may not be grown in any of the countries banning
GMOs and some of those even ban importation of the end
products.
Rape is a tall plant of the brassica family (cabbages, mustards and
turnips are all members) that produces rich oil bearing seeds. It
has become popular with producers because it is a versatile crop
that has been accepted for human and animal use. It has pale yellow
flowers, which brighten the countryside in springtime.It is
increasingly used for biofuel production.
Rapeseed oil is used in the manufacture of biodiesel for powering
motor vehicles. Biodiesel may be used in pure form in newer engines
without engine damage and is frequently combined with fossil-fuel
diesel in ratios
varying from 2% to *0% biodiesel. Formerly, owing to the costs of
growing, crushing, and refining rapeseed biodiesel, rapeseed
derived biodiesel cost more to produce than standard diesel fuel.
Rapeseed oil is the
preferred oil stock for biodiesel production in most of Europe,
accounting for about *0% of the feedstock In agriculture, canola is
the name given to certain varieties of rapeseed oil, or the oil
produced from those varieties. Canola is a trademark for a hybrid
variety of rape initially bred in Canada. Rapeseed oil was produced
in the *9th century as a source of a lubricant for steam engines.
It was less useful as food for animals or humans because it has a
bitter taste due to high levels of glucosinolates. Canola has been
bred to reduce the amount of glucosinolates, yielding a more
palatable oil. This has had the side effect that the oil contains
much less erucic acid.
