Canola oil is a key ingredient in many foods. It's reputation as a healthy oil has created high demand in markets around the world, and overall it is the third most widely consumed vegetable oil in the world. Rapeseed was once considered a specialty crop in Canada, but canola now has become a major American cash crop, and rapeseed is the highest-producing oil-seed crop in the USA. Canada and the United States produce between 7 and 10 million tonnes of canola seed per year. Annual Canadian exports total 3 to 4 million tonnes of the seeds, 800 thousand tonnes of canola oil and 1 million tonnes of canola meal. The major customers of canola seed are Japan, Mexico, China, and Pakistan, while the bulk of canola oil and meal goes to the United States, with smaller amounts shipped to Mexico, China, and Europe. World production of rapeseed oil in the 2002–2003 season was about 14 million metric tons. In the 2010–2011 season, world production is estimated to be at 58.4 million tonnes. Th...