Canola is a huge help to our natural environment! As a low carbon, sustainable and renewable resource, it protects biodiversity while providing food and fuel for the planet.
Canada’s canola farmers are committed to environmental stewardship and sustainability. Through new and innovative practices, they’re improving soil and water health, sequestering carbon, using land more efficiently, protecting biodiversity and reducing energy use. In fact, Canadian farms now save between 126 and 194 million litres of diesel per year as result of increased conservation tillage practices. This helps reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 750,000 tonnes annually, getting Canada one step closer to its 2030 goals.
*Source: Sustainability
Did you know that responsible farming practices allow Canadian farmers to sequester 11 million tonnes of GHGs in their fields each year? To put that in perspective, without canola, an additional 11 million tonnes of greenhouse gases would be released into our atmosphere every year, meaning we’d need to plant 341 million trees! Canola is particularly good at removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it underground because its roots run deeper than many other crops.
*Source: Carbon reduction & sequestration
Every year, more than 20 million acres of Canadian farmland turns bright yellow as canola comes into bloom. Canola’s beauty spans across the prairies providing habitat to over 2,000 beneficial insects, including native pollinators and honeybees, which have a positive impact on canola production. As an ideal food source for honeybees, canola has helped increase the number of bee colonies in Canada from 600,000 in the early 2000s to 773,000 today, with more than 70% of these colonies calling Western Canada home.
*Source: Canola, a beekeeper’s dream
Canadian canola is already on its way to helping create a healthier, cleaner environment. As a key ingredient in biofuel production around the world due to its low-carbon, sustainable, and renewable properties, canola is helping the Canadian government reduce its total emissions by 30% by 2023. How, you ask? Providing real and immediate benefits for the environment, canola-based biofuel reduces lifecycle GHG emissions by up to 90% compared to traditional diesel.
*Source: Canola biofuels
When most Canadians think of the Canadian crop, they’ll probably think of the beautiful yellow fields or the golden-hued oil on the shelves at the grocery stores. But what’s really incredible about canola is just how little of it that goes to waste. Canola meal (what’s left after the oil is extracted) happens to be in high global demand as well as an efficient, palatable plant protein for livestock, poultry, and fish.
When you get to know Canadian Canola, you just might fall in love.
