Canola is a group of rapeseed cultivars (Brassica napus and Brassica rapa) that were selectively bred in Canada in the 1970s to have low levels of erucic acid and glucosinolates — compounds that made traditional rapeseed oil unpalatable and potentially harmful in large quantities. The name “canola” originally stood for “Canadian oil, low acid.”
Canola oil is light in colour, mild in flavour, and has a relatively high smoke point, making it one of the most versatile and widely used cooking oils globally. It’s the dominant cooking oil in Australian households and food manufacturing, used for frying, baking, salad dressings, and as an ingredient in margarine and processed foods.
Australia is a significant canola producer and exporter. The crop also yields canola meal after oil extraction, which is used as a high-protein animal feed. Canola fields are recognisable by their bright yellow flowers, which bloom across large areas of southern Australia in spring.
How it's produced
Canola is an annual broadacre crop sown in autumn across the temperate grain-growing regions of Australia — primarily in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. The plants grow through winter, flower in spring, and are harvested in late spring to early summer when the seed pods have dried.
Harvesting is done with combine harvesters, and the seeds are transported to crushing facilities where the oil is extracted. Most commercial canola oil is extracted using a combination of mechanical pressing and solvent extraction (using hexane), followed by refining, bleaching, and deodorising. Cold-pressed canola oil, which skips the solvent step, is available as a premium product but represents a small share of production. Australian canola is grown using both conventional and genetically modified varieties, with GM canola permitted in most states.
What it costs the planet (per kilo)
* Based on what it takes to produce, from farm to factory gate.
What comes from this
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