Canola -- January 31, 2021

North Dakota leads the nation, by far, in canola production. I assume this is common knowledge.

Remember this post seven years ago, almost to the day, January 25, 2014? CBR -- canola by rail. 

At the time: search the blog for "canola."

North Dakota plants 2/3rds of the nation's canola -- is now at 83% -- see below;
North Dakota company building a canola plant in Oklahoma.
Despite moisture problems, North Dakota likely to remain #1 in canola -- back in 2011.

Today, from Reuters: exports empty Canada's canola bins, driving prices to near records. 

Canada, the world’s biggest canola grower, is running short of the oilseed six months before the next harvest, with strong export demand driving prices to nearly 13-year highs last week.

Supplies of major commodity crops are dwindling worldwide as buyers hoard food supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. China is loading up on grains and oilseeds that it can feed to animals, raising food inflation and causing some nations to restrict exports of their crops.

Canola, known for its bright yellow flowers, is crushed mainly for oil to make French fries, mayonnaise and salad dressings. Its meal is also fed to livestock like pigs.The roots of Canada’s canola shortage trace back to the autumn, when farmers reaped their smallest harvest in five years. Strong export demand for canola seed and oil then drove a late-summer rally that prompted farmers to sell more crop earlier than usual.ICE canola futures retreated late in the week to less than C$700 per tonne, remaining close to levels unseen since the record 2008 commodity boom.

Production by country:

• Canada: 15.5 million metric tons
• China: 14.7 million metric tons (net importer)
• India: 7.8 million metric tons (net importer)
• Germany: 6.25 million metric tons
• France: 5.5 million metric tons
• US: about 4 million metric tons

In the US, by state: 

Back in 2018, I found that story so compelling, I posted the following:

From Absolutely Small: How Quantum Theory Explains Our Everyday World, Michael D. Fayer, Ph. D., c. 2010.

Some data points:

• fatty acids:
• myristic acid, a 14-carbon saturated fat is believed to increase cholesterol significantly in a deleterious manner
• palmitic acid, a 16-carbon saturated fat, is thought to increase cholesterol to some extent
• stearic acid, an 18-carbon saturated fat, with little effect on cholesterol levels
• linolenic acid, an 18-carbon polyunsaturated fat, and other polyunsaturated fats decrease cholesterol
• oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat, and like many monounsaturated fats, with little effect on cholesterol
• among common oils, going from "bad" to "better" to "best" (in this context)
• butter fat and coconut oil: large amounts of myristic acid and palmitic acid; very little linolenic acid
• olive oil: no myristic acid, significant amount of palmitic acid and some linolenic acid
• canola oil; no myristic acid and almost no palmitic acid; a substantial amount of linolenic acid; ND #1;
  
• grape seed oil: no myristic acid; small amounts of palmitic acid, bur very large amounts of linolenic acid
• safflower oil: same as grape seed oil -- when not processed for high-temperature cooking
• sunflower oil: same as grape seed oil -- when not processed for high-temperature cooking; ND #1 (link here);
  
• chemically-modified fats: for various reasons, many polyunsaturated fats (good) are chemically processed to saturated fats (bad)
• hydrogenation: chemically converting polyunsaturated fats (good) to saturated fats (bad)
• because polyunsaturated fats can be beneficial, sunflower oil and safflower oil are seen as advantageous
• however, sunflower oil and safflower oil are often hydrogenated (bad)
• how can you tell if the sunflower oil product or the safflower oil product has been hydrogenated? Read the label and look at the ratio of saturated / polyunsaturated
• sunflower oil / safflower oil: high ratio of saturated / polyunsaturated, then the oil has been hydrogenated (bad)
• if not hydrogenated (good), sunflower oil / safflower oil will have far greater amounts of polyunsaturated than saturated fats

Having said all that, I practically grew up on slightly salted  / salted sunflower seeds while growing up in North Dakota. 

Back to safflower and sunflower oils: many brands have been partially hydrogenated so they are more usable for high-temperature cooking.

Polyunsaturated (but not saturated) oils more prone to reacting with oxygen and becoming rancid. To extend shelf life, they should be refrigerated.

If polyunsaturated fats are not refrigerated, they should be kept in a cool, dark place; some such oils come in dark bottles to improve shelf life in grocery stores.

Saturated fatty oils will keep for a long time without refrigeration.

Saturated fatty oils are also better for high-temperature cooking, and thus the reason for (partially) hydrogenating safflower and sunflower oil (bad).

We will get to trans-oils (bad) later. If I remember. It is my understanding that McDonald's does not use trans-oils. 

Canola oil is the first oil -- among the seven fatty acids in the frying oil -- usually mentioned when asked what oil McDonald's uses for frying French fries.

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My Fair Lady

Wow, the "lov-ely" scene brings forth a lot of tears. What a great story; what a great movie. 

TCM.

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Hard To Resist