What can be seen is very, very disturbing. An audio tape is availabe from The Ram's Horn . Once disdained as little more than a weed, rape has been transformed into canola, the darling of edible oils, and carried of to become the mistress of private interests. Rape is an ancient oilseed member of the plant family of broccoli, radish and mustard. Canola is rape, transformed through selective breeding to produce what is currently considered the healthiest of edible oils.
Rape is always an excercise of power and control.
The Rape of Canola is the story of the capture of the seed, the crop and its processing by large transnational corporations. The Rape of Canola draws extensively on the memories of the people involved in this metamorphosis. Their stories of how decisions have been made, by whom and with what consequences, illustrate the transformation of science, technology and agriculture that is taking place around the world. The Rape of Canola does not shrink from the hard questions this process raises. This book appears at first glance to be a knowledgeably and skilfully woven account of the development, research and marketing of canola, the triumphant metamorphosis of the humble rape seed.