Camelina Food or Fuel

Camelina Food or Fuel

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
In the United States, federal mandates to produce more renewable fuels, especially biofuels, have led to a growing debate: Should fuel or food grow on arable land? As we all know, some crops, like corn can be used as feed and as fuel. Russ Gesch, a plant physiologist with the USDA Soil Conservation Research Lab in Morris, Minnesota, talked with me about another food/fuel crop... Camelina.

"Camelina is a member of the mustard family and an emerging biofuel crop. It is well suited as a cover crop in the Midwest. What is the nutritional value? It is high in Omega three fatty acid and it is a heart healthy oil which contains a lot of vitamin E. The oil of Camelina has more vitamin D than soybean, typically. The food application it is often used for is in salad dressings. Because of the high amount of unsaturated fatty acids, it is not the best cooking oil. Here in the United States Camelina is primarily being developed for biofuels and renewable jet fuel, especially.

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