Canola vs. Rapeseed
by Kelly J. Bloom

Canola and Rapeseed are both Rapeseed, but both those Rapeseed oils are not 

"Canola". Canola stands for the HYBRID created and PATENTED by Monsanto Company 

(read Genetically engineered, as in Silver Queen White Corn, or Kentucky Blue 

Lake Green Beans, or Bob's Big Boy Tomato's... THAT is what is meant my 

'genetically engineered' in this case, not some evil plot to put mini nano-micro-bots,
et all in our food). 

The real nasty press and ruckus regarding Canola was this:  Monsanto Canada 

developed the hybrid and patented it. That means anyone wanting to grow that 

hybrid of rapeseed plant had to pay a royalty to Monsanto.  This rapeseed plant 

was a godsend for many Canadian farmers, same as soybeans are to many American 

farmers.  The hybrid Monsanto developed for crop development in Canada was 

patented as CANOLA, an acronym for CANadian Oil Low Acid  (CAN  O L A).  The 

LOW ACID hybridization meant that the rapeseed oil was safe for human 

consumption.   Regular rapeseed hybrids (there are already NATURALLY many 

hybrids of rapeseed, just like there are naturally hybrids of zinnia's, corn, 

etc, just by cross pollinations from insects) are not generally grown for human 

consumption due to the higher Erucic Acid, and those crops are targeted for 

animal feeds, industrial surfactant production, etc. 

Now what happened next was a debacle. Monsanto had fields planted in their 

Patented Rapeseed plants, the new Canola crop.  Natural cross-pollination was 

occurring though with adjoining NON Monsanto fields, something that would be about 

as hard to prevent as stopping the rain, stopping insects from moving about, 

stopping the winds... much like trying to keep your cat contained to just your 

own back yard! Impossible!  But Monsanto moved into court and SUED the Canadian 

farmers that were found to have Hybrid Canola plants in their fields. Worse, 

Monsanto WON!  

In my humble opinion, Canola oil is no more unsafe to use/eat/drink/soap than 

Castor oil is. Castor oil is derived from a POISONOUS castor bean. That poison 

is RICIN. Yet few soapers comment on that fact. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_Oil  

& http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricin  Furthermore, it is well established that Castor
Oil is very useful and beneficial in soapmaking.

Hybridization has been what has allowed many Canadian and US family farmers to 

continue. It also has contributed to the demise of many less hardy 'heritage 

plants' sadly, including flowers, vegetable, and fruits. One can still obtain 

those precious heritage plant seeds from specialty catalogs, but they are not 

usually well suited for the mass scale that a Family Farm and definitely not 

suited for Large Scale Corporate farming. In a family plot though, one can 

monitor the heritage plants closely and maintain pest controls that are more 

natural. Engineered Hybridization was done to REDUCE the amount of pesticides 

needed on crops... Pesticides are expensive!  Farmers want crops that are as low 

maintenance as possible with a balance of higher crop yield and greater 'take to 

market' yields... i.e. longer shelf lives.  So, hybridization is not an evil thing 

as LONG as we still protect the older heritage plants and do not let them become 

extinct.

Canola is a great skin conditioning oil. I use it for specific purposes when 

soaping. Canola oil lends itself to a slightly more 'translucent' look when the 

soap is allowed to go thru gel. This can be advantageously used when one wants 

some fibers or herbs or even cut out contrasting bits of CP soap to 'show thru" 

to deeper levels in the soap.  When I want to do this, as with my Bay Rum & 

Lime, or Bay Rum & Lavender, which both have herb particles in, I sub out 9% of 

my formula for canola, check my calc for lye changes, and soap it that way.  I 

always put it thru gel, as I want the added waxy translucence that Canola lends 

for those soaps I do.

All in all, I do not feel like there is any "bad" oil to be using for soaping... 

Each has a unique purpose.  Each soaper has a target audience and picks oils 

based on that too, i.e.. if one is making Goat Milk soap it is just as 

acceptable to be using lard and tallow as any more expensive oil, as the Goat Milk 

prevents it from being VEGAN soap anyway, so one might as well use Lard or Tallow 

to greatest benefit... the pocket book!  Same thing with Soy or Shortening. 

No crime there... balanced use of either make GREAT soap!  You have to formulate your soap 

oils to achieve the level of hardness (for customer satisfaction on bar life), 

conditioning (to have a skin conditioning bar), lather (fluffy is good), and several 

other factors. You have a hardness that applies to cured bar, and a different hardness 

that applies to a 'wet' in the shower bar.  One wants a bar that is hard outside on the 

shelf, and does not soften/melt too fast in the shower, good for skin, and 

lathers nice. My main formulations have about 16 various oils and butters and took
years to home in on.

The best advice that can be given to a new soaper is to fully research the properties of 

oils that one is considering for use in their soap formulation. Learn what fatty acids 

make up the oils and formulate your soap formulation based on the oil PROPERTIES rather 

than the names or origins of the ois.