Rape oil

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Jdsk
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Re: Rape oil

Post by Jdsk »

: - )

Jonathan
Oldjohnw
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Re: Rape oil

Post by Oldjohnw »

leftpoole wrote: 11 Jun 2021, 10:01am
Oldjohnw wrote: 11 Jun 2021, 7:10am I understood that the particular insecticide used is now/is soon to be banned because of the link with killing bees. It is now obtainable only by DEFRA permission. Without it many farmers will decide it is an uneconomical crop.
A pesticide believed to kill bees has been authorised for use in England despite an EU-wide ban on its use outdoors two years ago and an explicit government pledge to keep the restrictions.

Following lobbying from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and British Sugar, a product containing the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam was sanctioned for emergency use on sugar beet seeds this year because of the threat posed by a virus.
I remember. It was Sugar Beet.
John
thirdcrank
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Re: Rape oil

Post by thirdcrank »

Sweep wrote: 11 Jun 2021, 11:45am
Jdsk wrote: 11 Jun 2021, 11:41am

PS: Isn't it it a lovely colour compared to that vulgar yellow stuff? See also mustard.
I don't think farmers consult home decor mags before deciding what to plant.
Perhaps it's to ensure riders in hi=viz togs remain visible.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Rapeseed oil

Post by Tangled Metal »

Am I the only one to think that using the words "rape oil" when it's actually called "rapeseed oil" a bit wrong? Is that pedantic, technically correct completely correct?
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NUKe
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Re: Rape oil

Post by NUKe »

Oldjohnw wrote: 11 Jun 2021, 7:10am I understood that the particular insecticide used is now/is soon to be banned because of the link with killing bees. It is now obtainable only by DEFRA permission. Without it many farmers will decide it is an uneconomical crop.
I really hope .so. it is a really strong Pollen in terms of my hay fever
NUKe
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PH
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Re: Rape oil

Post by PH »

NUKe wrote: 11 Jun 2021, 1:46pm
Oldjohnw wrote: 11 Jun 2021, 7:10am I understood that the particular insecticide used is now/is soon to be banned because of the link with killing bees. It is now obtainable only by DEFRA permission. Without it many farmers will decide it is an uneconomical crop.
I really hope .so. it is a really strong Pollen in terms of my hay fever
Apparently not. I went to my GP with hay-fever type symptoms a couple of years ago (I'm occasionally a mild sufferer) and was told it's something other than the pollen. I didn't get the difference but it's an insect pollinated plant releasing little pollen into the air.
L+1
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Re: Rape oil

Post by L+1 »

Apparently the ‘hay fever’ problem is actually sensitivity to the scent - some of the volatile oils can cause allergic reactions. Worst in warm/hot weather as the oils vaporise.
There’s a lot of Rapeseed flowering just now in my bit of NE Scotland. It’s popularity comes and goes but it’s back in favour this year.
Several farms are making artisanal ‘cold pressed’ Rapeseed oil, with associated health benefit claims. Some available in major supermarkets……
Ben@Forest
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Re: Rape oil

Post by Ben@Forest »

L+1 wrote: 12 Jun 2021, 8:39am There’s a lot of Rapeseed flowering just now in my bit of NE Scotland. It’s popularity comes and goes but it’s back in favour this year.
Overall, following the neonicotinoid ban the UK is growing a lot less rape, we've gone from being a net exporter to a net importer. Places like Ukraine are cashing in on the shortfall in the UK/EU. So effectively all we're doing is making sure, our bees are more important than their bees. We aren't stopping the (as yet as far as I'm aware) still unproven problem.
PH
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Re: Rape oil

Post by PH »

Ben@Forest wrote: 12 Jun 2021, 10:21am
L+1 wrote: 12 Jun 2021, 8:39am There’s a lot of Rapeseed flowering just now in my bit of NE Scotland. It’s popularity comes and goes but it’s back in favour this year.
Overall, following the neonicotinoid ban the UK is growing a lot less rape, we've gone from being a net exporter to a net importer. Places like Ukraine are cashing in on the shortfall in the UK/EU. So effectively all we're doing is making sure, our bees are more important than their bees. We aren't stopping the (as yet as far as I'm aware) still unproven problem.
But going back to a previous thread on the country's ability to grow it's own food - Why have we become an importer when the UK exports most of the crop to Germany for bio-diesel? Wouldn't transferring that production to something consumed in the UK be a good this all round? There's lots of other issues with the crop alongside the well established issue with the bees, it needs a lot of chemical intervention to be commercially viable.
Otherwise yes, exporting our problems to someone else's backyard is not the solution to worldwide issues.
Jdsk
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Re: Rape oil

Post by Jdsk »

PH wrote: 12 Jun 2021, 10:34amBut going back to a previous thread on the country's ability to grow it's own food - Why have we become an importer when the UK exports most of the crop to Germany for bio-diesel? Wouldn't transferring that production to something consumed in the UK be a good this all round?
Not necessarily:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage

Jonathan
GayUnicorn
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Re: Rape oil

Post by GayUnicorn »

Actually an interesting topic there is olive oil which everyone uses, but there are other oils like
Bran oil etc for nutty flavour
Ben@Forest
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Re: Rape oil

Post by Ben@Forest »

PH wrote: 12 Jun 2021, 10:34am
Ben@Forest wrote: 12 Jun 2021, 10:21am Overall, following the neonicotinoid ban the UK is growing a lot less rape, we've gone from being a net exporter to a net importer. Places like Ukraine are cashing in on the shortfall in the UK/EU. So effectively all we're doing is making sure, our bees are more important than their bees. We aren't stopping the (as yet as far as I'm aware) still unproven problem.
But going back to a previous thread on the country's ability to grow it's own food - Why have we become an importer when the UK exports most of the crop to Germany for bio-diesel? Wouldn't transferring that production to something consumed in the UK be a good this all round? There's lots of other issues with the crop alongside the well established issue with the bees, it needs a lot of chemical intervention to be commercially viable.
Otherwise yes, exporting our problems to someone else's backyard is not the solution to worldwide issues.
I have to say despite reading a fair bit of the farming press l don't know if it's true we export a large part our rapeseed crop for biodiesel.

But there is a difference between industrial and edible rapeseed, they look identical but have different uses. So given a farmer's land, sunshine, rainfall and of course demand and price the industrial crop maybe a better choice. And if Germany makes a lot of lubricants, hydraulic fluids etc then export is natural.
PH
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Re: Rape oil

Post by PH »

Ben@Forest wrote: 12 Jun 2021, 10:53am I have to say despite reading a fair bit of the farming press l don't know if it's true we export a large part our rapeseed crop for biodiesel.
What a well crafted sentence, a lesson in how to discredit a statement without actually saying it's wrong, it deserves a round of applause. I hope you practice such skills in an arena where you profit from them, politics maybe?
My statement was easily verifiable of course, I wouldn't have written it otherwise. Link below to a NFU briefing that says:
Oilseed rape is used in the production of biodiesel and currently c.40% of UK produced rapeseed is exported for biofuel production in other EU member states
That's from a few years ago, since then exports went up, before the recent fall.
But there is a difference between industrial and edible rapeseed, they look identical but have different uses. So given a farmer's land, sunshine, rainfall and of course demand and price the industrial crop maybe a better choice.
Same NFU briefing also says
If we were ever to enter a period of shortage crops earmarked for biofuel production could be easily and quickly reallocated into the food chain
So while I'm not suggesting anyone cooks their chips in bio-diesel, it would seem to be the same crop.

https://www.nfuonline.com/assets/81065

BTW, though maybe not relevant to this thread - While looking for a link, I discovered that the Ukraine have lost their position as Europe's largest source, that now seems to be Canada or Australia. I don't know their pesticide restrictions, or if they're able to grow it with less chemical intervention.
Ben@Forest
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Re: Rape oil

Post by Ben@Forest »

PH wrote: 12 Jun 2021, 1:35pm What a well crafted sentence, a lesson in how to discredit a statement without actually saying it's wrong, it deserves a round of applause....

So while I'm not suggesting anyone cooks their chips in bio-diesel, it would seem to be the same crop.
I'm sorry you took my comment that way. I was simply commenting on the basis of working closely with farmers and knowing something of farming, but not researching NFU statements for the sake of an argument - so l simply don't know exactly how we export what rapeseed year on year and to whom.

However it is not the same crop. The amount of erucic acid in oil for industrial uses (between 30 and 60 percent) may be dangerous to humans. The following is American, hence use of the word 'canola', but it spells it out.

People are sometimes confused between the use of the terms “rapeseed” and “canola.” Rapeseed is the traditional name for the group of oilseed crops in the Brassicaceae family. It can be divided into two types — industrial rapeseed or canola. Visually, the seeds of the two types are identical. The distinguishing difference between the two types is their individual chemical or fatty acid profiles. Generally, “industrial rapeseed” refers to any rapeseed with a high content (at least 45 percent) of erucic acid in the oil. The name ‘Canola’ was registered in 1979 in Canada and refers to the edible oil crop that is characterized by low erucic acid (less than 2 percent) and low levels of glucosinolates.
Pebble
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Re: Rape oil

Post by Pebble »

Oilseed rape harvest has been poor this last couple of years with wet autumns and very dry springs, it is looking really good this year though, could be really good if we get lots of sun this june.
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