Rape seed was a fodder drop for animals as it could only be digested by ruminants and was actually very bad for humans. So the Canadians genetically engineered it so we could digest it (can = Canadian; ola = Oil in French or Spanish). Read the full article about toxic chemicals etc here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canola.
Unfortunately, a lot of people still have a bad reaction to it, I am one, it makes me very ill with dreadful and unproductive stomach gripes.
However, a global hard sell marketing campaign has organisations like the Heart Foundation totally hornswoggled by the attributes of it - I think we'd all be far better off growing more olives for oil as that is a much more natural product. But there is money in that golden harvest, and it is a much, much quicker return than olives.
So you can write the rest yourself.
EDITED TO ADD:
From the site
http://www.thehealthierlife.co.uk/natural-health-articles/nutrition/is-canola-oil-safe-00349.htmlBut canola is not perfect. So far, no studies have been conducted to test the effect of canola oil on humans. But quite a few animal tests have been conducted, and the results are not promising. For instance, there are indications that canola is not healthy for the cardiovascular system, having caused lesions of the heart and vitamin E deficiency in rats. And ironically, one of the primary virtues that makes canola so appealing - the omega-3 fatty acid content - may in fact be the source of a primary problem.
Omega-3 fatty acids become rancid during the heat-intensive processing of canola oil, creating an unpleasant odour (in my mind, the smell is less of a concern than the rancidity, but I digress). The deodorisation process turns a large amount of canolas omega-3 into trans fatty acids.
The Canadian government says the trans content of canola is 0.2 per cent, but a University of Florida (US) study in the found trans contents as high as 4.6 per cent. This problem is even greater in processed foods where the hydrogenation process sends the trans fat content soaring to as much as 40 per cent.
We've all heard the increasing debate over the dangers of trans fatty acids. A US panel of the National Academy of Sciences submitted a report on their attempt to set a safe intake level for trans fat. The panel reported that trans fat intake creates a serious risk of heart disease, just as saturated fat does. The report concluded with a recommendation that has no grey areas: the only safe intake of trans fatty acids is zero.
