Vegetable oil

A vegetable oil is an oil extracted from oilseeds or another plant source. Some vegetable oils, such as rapeseed, cottonseed or castor oil, are not fit for human consumption without further processing. Common sources of vegetable oil include:

Oilseeds:

• rapeseed
  • canola (a special variety of rapeseed, bred to minimize toxin content)
• sesame
• sunflower
• linseed
• hemp (cannabis)
• safflower
• flax seed

Other vegetable oils:

• olive
• soybean
• peanut
• castor bean
• corn (maize)
• cotton seed
• coconut
• palm -from the fruit of the African palm tree
• palm kernel oil - from the nut of the African palm tree
• walnut
• almond
• hazelnut
• grapeseed
• pumpkin seed
• avocado
• rice bran

According to the USDA, the world consumption of major vegetable oils in 2000:

• Soybeans 26.0 million metric tons (MMT)
• Palm 23.3 MMT
• Rapeseed 13.1 MMT
• Sunflowerseed 8.6 MMT
• Peanut 4.2 MMT
• Cottonseed 3.6 MMT
• Coconut 3.3 MMT
• Palm Kernel 2.7 MMT
• Olive 2.5 MMT

See also: lipid, fat, biodiesel.