THE CURSE OF THE CANOLA CLOUD…

It’s Spring - that time of the year when the cropping fields of the Bellarine Peninsula are filled with golden flowers. The sides of the roads are also increasingly covered with similar looking golden weeds. As a local health care professional, it’s also the time of the year when patients arrive with a dreaded seasonal affliction – sneezing; runny nose and eyes; itching, hot, red and painful eyes; constricted airways; painful and congested sinuses. My observation over the last few years has been that this malady is increasing in severity, prevalence, and sudden dramatic onset. And my observation is that this seems to coincide with the arrival of a fine yellow dust that covers car bonnets and windscreens, and even internal household surfaces.

But I’m not alone: According to a study of 25 residents in a small Scottish village over a two-year period investigated respiratory symptom reporting in the presence or absence of oilseed rape. Symptom reporting in the year when oilseed rape virtually surrounded the village, varied during the growing season of the crop and was at its highest coincident with peak flowering. At the same period of the following year when the crop was absent, symptom reporting was significantly lower. The symptoms which correlated most strongly with peak oilseed rape flowering were sneezing, cough, headache, eye irritation and the total of these and other symptoms… (Evidence that oilseed rape (Brassica napus ssp. oleifera) causes respiratory illness in rural dwellers. Scott Med J. 1995 Jun; 40(3): 74-6. Parratt D, Macfarlane Smith WH, Thomson G, Cameron LA, Butcher RD.)

Other studies have confirmed the allergenic potential of the canola pollen, being similar but distinct to many common allergies to grasses. The two most dangerous times from this crop are probably at the height of flowering, and then upon harvesting when massive amounts of pollen are released into the airstreams.

So here’s the question – Are the residents of the Bellarine peninsula who are significantly impaired by this proven allergen, supposed to suffer in silence, while the acreage covered by this cash crop increases each year, and encircles each township with seemingly closer proximity, and as vacant fields and grasslands appear to be invaded and filled by what amount to an introduced weed?

And perhaps an even larger issue – Overseas, GM Canola crops now outnumber hybrid Canola species. In the early days of Canola farming in Canada (hence the change of the name from an unacceptable “Rapeseed” to Canola), the plants were hybridized to remove erucic acid which had question marks over its toxic potential, and also gave the resultant oil a green tinge and unpleasant taste. More recently though, Canola has been used as a pioneer of GM cropping, to further remove the unwelcome components of the resulting products and to increase the resilience of the plant. As Victoria will eventually bow to federal pressure to remove its’ blockage of GM crops being planted, there is no doubt that Canola will be one of the first crops to convert to GM, and hence areas surrounded by Canola will also be amongst the first to be surrounded by even more controversial plants and pollens.

The primary product from Canola is the oil, which is widely accepted due to its high levels of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, making it a better health and nutrition option. But one need only to spend ten minutes on Google to discover that there is hot debate about which oils are the best. Canola has had some bad press; Olive Oil is seen as too expensive for some; and while Flaxseed is really healthy, its’ smell and taste is not popular.

So how do you decide which oil to use?

Canola is popular among cooks because of its ability to handle high temperatures, and because it has minimal taste and color (due to either its high level of hybridization or its’ GM). Olive oil is more popular for low-heat cooking and in salads due to its’ distinctive and popular flavor and color. Flaxseed tends to be used more as a dietary supplement.

Butter and margarine are less popular now due to the presence of saturated and/or trans-fatty acids: My usual advice is to choose oils/fats that are in the form you would like them to be inside your body – That is – LIQUID.

Some other factors you may want to factor into your decisions as to which oil is for you?

1) How was the oil extracted? Oils like Canola are usually extracted by a chemical process which MAY leave behind some potentially toxic residues. Most people who prefer Olive Oil do so when it has been cold-pressed.

2) How has the Oil been processed? That is – Has anything else been added to increase the shelf life, temperature stability, color or flavor.

My conclusions? I personally look for oil which is grown from non-GM crops, which has been cold-pressed and has not been processed – you can find both Canola and Olive Oils with these specifications if you read the labels carefully. But buyer beware, canola oil products are exempt from having to state if they are manufactured from GM crops, so if you choose to avoid GM, you will have to look for products which clearly state that they ARE GM-free.

And what about all those fields of yellow? I’d rather see groves of shady green Olive trees myself!

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