Quote:
Originally Posted by IvanK
Rapeseed is a modern crop not around to that extent in the old dart in 1940
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Not too sure about this. Whilst rapeseed oil only became a human food after WW2 it has been used for industrial purposes like lubrication and as a biofuel (lamps etc) for centuries. I think it could even have been grown widely during the war for precisely these purposes but am not sure about this.
After WW2 the erucic acid was bred down to levels which made rapeseed oil fit for humans. Further refinements including the removal of bitter glucosinolates were done much later in the late 70's/early 80's to generate canola which certainly is a modern crop (and getting more modern with today's much more precise modifications).