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.