b"Market Trends: The Growing Anti-Seed OilWhats Still Unknown?Movement Petersen says more research into diseases like The anti-seed oil movement has even led to aAlzheimers, dementia, and certain cancers could new Seed Oil Free Certified label in the U.S.,be valuable.introduced by the Seed Oil Free Alliance in 2024.There are a lot of health conditions people are According to the most recent data from the USDAworried about, but the most studied ones so far Economic Research Service's Food Availabilityare heart disease, type 2 diabetes and to some Data System, seed oils were the second-largestextent, obesity, Petersen says. So additional source of per-person caloric intake in 2010, con- research would be helpful on how seed oils can tributing 518 of 2,481 daily calories. impact neurodegenerative diseases specifically.Still, only a minority of consumers appearMore research on using seed oils at high temper-to be actively avoiding them, according to theatures could also put some of these claims to rest.April 2025 Consumer Food Insights from PurdueThere have been hypotheses about what Universitys Center for Food Demand Analysis andhappens when oils are heated, but its important Canola Council of CanadaSustainability (CFDAS). The survey polls 1,200to look at their effects on human health and so President and CEO Chris Davison. Americans using a nationally representative panelfar, there is really no evidence from human studies maintained by Dynata and weighted to match U.S.showing harm from heating seed oils, Petersen demographics. says.The vast majority of people say avoiding seedJane Zhao, a Takemi fellow at Harvard and oils isn't really on their radar, indicating that theyassistant professor at the University of Hong Kong, never, rarely or only sometimes read labels at theis passionate about using robust research such as supermarket or check menu ingredients whenclinical trials and Mendelian randomization.eating out to try and avoid seed oils, says JosephPart of my research includes linoleic acid, a Balagtas, Purdue professor of agricultural econom- major omega-6 fatty acid. Right now, its hard to ics and CFDAS director. draw firm conclusions. The beneficial associations CFDAS found that 20% of respondents saidare mainly drawn from observational studies, which they try to avoid seed oils when cooking at home,dont give us causal inference, Zhao says.whereas only 18% indicated they were also avoid-ing seed oils a year prior. Still, even a minority of 20% represents a sizable number, Balagtas says.Harvard Takemi Fellow andIts possible food manufacturers and retailersResearchers evaluate high oleic University of Hong Kongwill want to market to that 20%, and if they do, Assistant Professor Jane Zhao. soybean oil for stability, shelf life, and it could reduce the share of seed oils in our food supply, Balagtas says. Its also possible that 20%nutritional benefits.could grow. Nutrition is complex, and theres a lot of conflicting information on whats healthy and whats not.Julie Ohmen, chief executive officer of Soy Nutrition Institute (SNI) Global, says major shifts in the seed oil market are unlikely, primarily because decisions around fats and oils on a large-scale hinge on functionality, availability and cost.Our domestic processing capacity is insulated from market disruption to ensure continued access to affordable, high-quality oils that support a resilient food system. Most alternatives cannot cur-rently deliver the same scale, reliability, or cost-effi-Penn State University Associateciency, Ohmen says. Without satisfying all three Professor of Nutritional Sciencesof these criteria, it would be difficult or impossible Kristina Petersen. for food industry formulators to replace or substi-tute seed oils.14/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2025"