A Versatile, Colorful Crop

WHAT do diesel fuel, cattle feed, soap, and margarine have in common? In some lands all these items are produced with the help of the rape plant, with its vivid yellow flower.

This colorful relative of the mustard family, produced in parts of Europe, Asia, and North America, is especially valued for its oil-rich seeds. Up to 40 percent of rapeseed is oil, which can be put to a variety of uses.

Most rapeseed oil—perhaps as much as 90 percent—is used for production of food. It is employed in the making of margarine, biscuits, soups, ice cream, and confectionaries. But rapeseed oil can also be used to produce a diesel fuel that pollutes less, thus limiting damage to the environment. When refined, the oil can also be used to lubricate delicate machinery, and after it is extracted, the bulk of the crop can be crushed into a cake that is rich in protein and useful as animal feed.

What a versatile crop! Truly, we can say as did the psalmist: “How many your works are, O Jehovah! All of them in wisdom you have made.”—Psalm 104:24.