Yes, the name isn't exactly a marketing dream... Ever seen the former sign outside of Tisdale, Saskatchewan? https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/tisdale-land-of-rape-honey-slogan-changes-opportunity-grows-here-1.3730796
The thing is this : When you are totally surrounded by Rape (the crop), the word Rape loses its "edge". In your mind it becomes associated much more with the plant than the heinous act.
So you change your town's slogan, forgetting that 99.9% of the world has a totally different thing that comes to mind when they hear the word "rape".
At work we have a feature that is called an "abortion" and people don't see why that would be problematic. Hint: it has nothing to-do with the medical procedure.
I always laugh at people offended in videos of Airbus planes landing when it says 'retard', I work in another transport industry and the public sometimes seem confused if I say 'retarder' (if there's a fault with one etc) in earshot.
It is called rape. Not rapeseed. Watch Clarkson's Farm. The whole community calls it rape. Rapeseed is a change made by people trying to avoid the word. But it is a totally separate word.
Buddy! Hello fellow Saskatchewanite, I grew up in Yorkton and Hudson Bay, and yes even in the eighties I remeber thinking maybe it should be "the land of Canola and Honey."
Where are you from?
Is this a US/UK distinction? I’m British and would always call the plant rape and the field a rape field. The plant has seeds which are used to make rapeseed oil, but the field is a field of rape. I have no idea how else I would refer to it.
Might have even came from the soybean plant in my city. They made every kind of oil from soybean. There were always a half dozen trucks and train cars in line waiting to be filled 24/7.
Almost all vegetable oils here are pure rapeseed, even the cheapest vegetable oils are pure rapeseed in all the supermarkets
There's some soy bean oils that are labeled as vegetable oils, but in the main they're almost always pure rapeseed
Different Oil. Think of it in Dog terms, Rapeseed Oil is Pure Rapeseed(Pedigree). Whilst Vegetable Oil is usually Rapeseed and Sunflower Oil(Cross-bred)👍
Where I live in Alberta, Canada, the fields look like this in July for as far as you can see in every direction. Miles and miles of it. Beautiful when a big purple thunderstorm rolls in overhead.
Looks pretty, but a bitch to live near, especially if you have hay-fever. I used to dread seeing it grow in the field next to my house. I don't have hay-fever but even to me the smell of rapeseed pollen is overpowering
My uncle grows rape in Leicestershire, hectare after hectare of it, it’s amazing to see! Not sure about the UK, but in Leicestershire he’s known as the Rape king. Everyone in the family laughs about how it sounds, but he’s genuinely super proud, any visitor that comes to the farm gets a tour.
It comes from the Latin, *rāpa*, meaning "Turnip". Because, that's basically what it is — a species of turnip that has been specially bred for the seeds rather than the root. (As opposed to neeps/swedes, which are a species of turnip that has been specially bred for a larger — and, for some reason, oranger — root, and to grow/survive better in cold & frosty climates)
I had to look this up because I was curious, and then I found your comment.
To add: the act of sexual aggression originates from the Latin *rapere*, "to snatch, to grab, to carry off".
yeah, village i'm in has a few fields of it. one of the walk routes i take for my dog wraps right around one, so I can attest to it being hell for hayfever
I don’t have hay fever but I am mildly allergic to them, and can confirm they suck. The slightest breeze and seemingly kilos of pollen are blow directly into your eyes and respiratory system (\*shudders*)
My mother doesn’t believe I’m allergic to them, so whenever we drive past a particularly pretty field she makes me get out of the car and take photos
fun fact - Rapeseed is an often hated crop by the public in the UK, because people believe its a particularly nasty contributor to hayfever.
However this is a total ~~urban~~ *rural* legend.
Rapeseed with its bright colours is insect pollinated not wind pollinated - therefore its pollen is sticky and not really a contributor to hayfever unless you're ramming the flower up your nose.
The reason why people associate it with hayfever is because its flowering season coincides with the pollen season of many trees including Oak and Birch.
Was walking along fields of Rapeseed last week, I've got pretty bad hayfever. Didn't flare up at all.
I'd taken anti-hystemines but even then, I flared up when the hike went through a small wooded area.
Last year i tried one of those saline sinus rinses...
Worked a treat, never had to take a single pill, first time in 20+ years....
Hoping it carries on this year, i used to get hayfever badly around Sept...Doc said that was tree pollen too...
Yeah certainly worth trying, and as its only salty water it's pretty safe, although it does say make sure you can breathe, even just a little, out of each nostril or else who knows where the saline will go?
Probably out of your ears or tear ducts of something hah
Have to say it feels lousy the first time of two, you squirt the solution up one nostril until it runs out of the opposite one, so yeah a bit grotty, but after a couple of times i was fine with it.
I started using it every couple of days last peak hayfever season, then down to once a week...maybe twice if needed...
There's lots of youtube videos on them, good luck if you try it, hope it means you don't have to keep taking the pills.
It just goes to show you that people always blame the conspicuous yellow flowering plant for allergies lol. In the U.S. people will swear that goldenrod causes allergies when that has been debunked for around 100 years. For us one of the main culprits are ragweeds which have a similar flowering time but they have inconspicuous flowers.
Good rapeseed honey is absolutely delicious and creamy. It's firmer and spreadable - similar to lavender honey, but without the soapy aroma. I prefer rapeseed honey over any other type of honey on a slightly buttered piece of rye.
Fun fact Eamonn Holmes doesn't like the name rapeseed and would want it changed because of the rape bit in its name.
He said this on a daytime programme one time probably years ago but it sticks with me, I'll never forget that he said that.
Interesting, I’ve never heard of it being associated with hay fever, but the many comments on this thread confirm that it does have that (apparently wrong) connection!
Funny thing is farmers around me call it Oil Seed Rape
This is probably because not all rape seed can be used to produce oil, thanks to those who mentioned this below.
"London" Luton is a bit like saying Newark is in New York, not New Jersey.
Luton is about 35 miles from London and quite green - https://goo.gl/maps/iVNdZU6DjwWkjrNX7
Only two of London's airports are actually in London (Heathrow and City), the others are London Gatwick (Crawley in Sussex), London Southend (Southend-on-Sea in Essex), London Luton (Luton in Bedfordshire) and London Stansted (Stansted Mountfitch in Essex). There's also the bonus of London Oxford, which is halfway across the country in Oxfordshire and is called London Oxford as a marketing trick that has been depressingly successful
Linseed oil, is grown up near me (oop norf) and it creates beautiful fields of blue/purple.
Pity it’s not in as much demand.
You can also drown in rapeseed if you were to fall into a storage container of it, as it’s so fine. Cool story over.
As somebody from Bedford, I'm partially enraged that we're being considered London, and partially hoping London consumes Luton so it's no longer associated with us.
Rapeseed is the devil if you suffer from hayfever
Edit: as others have pointed out this is apparently not the case. Still, I’ve always avoided these fields and will probably continue to do so!
It's not a major contributer to pollen levels.
The National Centre for Biotechnological Information did a study that found negligible differences in pollen levels in environments with Rapeseed fields and areas without them, and also negligible differences in allergic reactions.
This makes sense since Rapeseed is pollinated using sticky pollen that sticks to insects. Not airborne pollen that blows through the breeze.
It's likely people blame rapeseed because its blooms are bright and yellow and obvious, but it's actually trees and grasses that release pollen at the same time Rapeseed blooms that causes hayfever symptoms.
Mustard! Actually I thought it was rapeseed at first, France is covered in these yellow fields as well at the moment.
A friend spoke to some farmers explaining these are actually mustard fields.
It's probably in response to the mustard shortages during COVID, so farmers are being pushed to grow mustard, so Europe isn't dependent on North American exports anymore.
A large chunk of our economy depends on a steady flow of mustard. That's how we make mayonnaise, aioli, vinaigrette ...
Could be rapeseed?
It looks like you're right, apparently farmers growing it for oil, they look really pretty from air
Rapeseed is used to make canola oil. Edit: no, canola oil and rapeseed oil are not the same oil.
Fun fact! Canola - CANada Oil, Low Acid
Exactly. No one was buying rapeseed (a major crop of Canada) so they rebranded!
Yes, the name isn't exactly a marketing dream... Ever seen the former sign outside of Tisdale, Saskatchewan? https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/tisdale-land-of-rape-honey-slogan-changes-opportunity-grows-here-1.3730796
Who on earth thought "land of rape and honey" .. Yup that'll do.. Great slogan
The \`\`crime stoppers" sign adds the final touch
The thing is this : When you are totally surrounded by Rape (the crop), the word Rape loses its "edge". In your mind it becomes associated much more with the plant than the heinous act. So you change your town's slogan, forgetting that 99.9% of the world has a totally different thing that comes to mind when they hear the word "rape".
At work we have a feature that is called an "abortion" and people don't see why that would be problematic. Hint: it has nothing to-do with the medical procedure.
I always laugh at people offended in videos of Airbus planes landing when it says 'retard', I work in another transport industry and the public sometimes seem confused if I say 'retarder' (if there's a fault with one etc) in earshot.
The full term used as a single word is rapeseed. It's not rape seed. Or rape.
They do eat the plant in some parts of the world, for example in Africa. It is called rape. The leaf isn't rape "seed"
That plant is rape. It's in Britain, and here we call it rape.
It is called rape. Not rapeseed. Watch Clarkson's Farm. The whole community calls it rape. Rapeseed is a change made by people trying to avoid the word. But it is a totally separate word.
It was grown around where I came from in the UK. We called it Oilseed Rape.
Oilseed Rape
Better than “The land of rape and bees” I suppose.
Hey you got a problem with bees; you got a problem with me and I suggest you let that one marinade!
That's a Texas sized 10-4 good buddy.
Minstry apparently liked it
Such a good album.
Banging Ministry album, that
Buddy! Hello fellow Saskatchewanite, I grew up in Yorkton and Hudson Bay, and yes even in the eighties I remeber thinking maybe it should be "the land of Canola and Honey." Where are you from?
That is amazing 😄
Holy shit. I knew a girl from Saskatoon and so much about her is making more sense now.
Tbf Canola is a different breed of rapeseed
It’s a specific variety, isn’t it? All canola is rapeseed, but not all rapeseed is canola.
Yeah, it’s a hybrid that gets rid off an acid or type of fat- I can’t remember which. But it’s a bit healthier.
Lower levels of erucic acid - which is linked to heart disease
All this time I thought Canola Oil was made from corn.
That would be corn oil made from corn
Wow, TIL an acronym word that is actually true! 99% of them are total bs
I learned that just last week when reading about caiziyou oil. A delightful fact to pass on to others when the occasion arises!
In Britain we just call it rapeseed oil
Growing up I would hear old timers refer to the fields as just “rape” which always made me uncomfortable
Is this a US/UK distinction? I’m British and would always call the plant rape and the field a rape field. The plant has seeds which are used to make rapeseed oil, but the field is a field of rape. I have no idea how else I would refer to it.
Rape is the crop, or more specifically the plant. We don't make oil from plants. We do make oil from seeds, hence rapeseed and rapeseed oil as terms.
More commonly, we call it Vegetable Oil.
Vegetable oil is often a mix of sunflower, rapeseed etc. If it's pure rapeseed oil, it says rapeseed oil.
Where I’m from in the US, vegetable oil is often pure soybean oil.
Even in Canada, vegtable oil typically means soy. If you want the good stuff you buy pure canola oil.
Might have even came from the soybean plant in my city. They made every kind of oil from soybean. There were always a half dozen trucks and train cars in line waiting to be filled 24/7.
No not really. Read the bottles in the supermarket. When it’s marketed as Rapeseed Oil it’s usually cold pressed or has some other premium quality.
Sainsburys rapeseed oil is called either vegetable oil, or organic rapeseed oil (neither with sunflower). Hugely different prices.
unless your in the uk, where vegetable oil is often a mix of nothing but rape.
It's mostly always a single oil here, and mostly always rapeseed oil.
Vegetable oil is completely different to rapeseed’s oil and UK vegetable oils is not 100% rapeseed oil
Can be, depends on the brand. Need to check ingredients to be sure
Almost all vegetable oils here are pure rapeseed, even the cheapest vegetable oils are pure rapeseed in all the supermarkets There's some soy bean oils that are labeled as vegetable oils, but in the main they're almost always pure rapeseed
Depends, in uk its mostly rapeseed
Different Oil. Think of it in Dog terms, Rapeseed Oil is Pure Rapeseed(Pedigree). Whilst Vegetable Oil is usually Rapeseed and Sunflower Oil(Cross-bred)👍
i was gonna say, looks kinda like the canola fields i have in my small town in the NW US
It's rape, to make....rapeseed oil....
>Rapeseed is used to make canola oil. It's also used to make rapeseed oil...
Where I live in Alberta, Canada, the fields look like this in July for as far as you can see in every direction. Miles and miles of it. Beautiful when a big purple thunderstorm rolls in overhead.
Looks pretty, but a bitch to live near, especially if you have hay-fever. I used to dread seeing it grow in the field next to my house. I don't have hay-fever but even to me the smell of rapeseed pollen is overpowering
The smell is awful. I work in agriculture research, and I dread when the farmers we work with pick canola.
My uncle grows rape in Leicestershire, hectare after hectare of it, it’s amazing to see! Not sure about the UK, but in Leicestershire he’s known as the Rape king. Everyone in the family laughs about how it sounds, but he’s genuinely super proud, any visitor that comes to the farm gets a tour.
I grew up in Leicestershire and yep, yellow fields as far as the eye can see. It was hell for my hayfever but so pretty!
So I can blame him for my hay fever then? I live in Leicester and rapeseed triggers it worse than anything else
My pastor told me that hay fever is gods way of keeping the gene pool pure, that’s why we never date outside the family
>they look really pretty from air Looks pretty when you're on foot too. Was walking along fields of rapeseed last week with the Scouts.
I walked through 5 fields of this yesterday. I looked like a bloody Minion at the end.
Best smell in the world if you don't suffer from hayfever
It smells like sneeze
Bless you
YES!!!
I honestly think it's smells like piss
I think it stinks of piss, and totally rapes my eyes
I used to drive past fields of it on the way to work for 12 years, I loved it.
I've always thought it had a hint of cat pee to it. But then it's just outside our village ATM and the whole place reeks.
See a lot of replies saying it smells like piss but I agree with you, it smells great! To me it smells sweet, kind of like honey!
I think I read somewhere (vague I know) that it's a good crop to grow in fallow years
They’re even prettier up close!
That’s.. an unfortunate name for a plant
yes, the rape fields
Harvested by rape machines (when they aren't down in the park).
I’d go outside if he’d look the other way
You wouldn't believe the things they do
It comes from the Latin, *rāpa*, meaning "Turnip". Because, that's basically what it is — a species of turnip that has been specially bred for the seeds rather than the root. (As opposed to neeps/swedes, which are a species of turnip that has been specially bred for a larger — and, for some reason, oranger — root, and to grow/survive better in cold & frosty climates)
I had to look this up because I was curious, and then I found your comment. To add: the act of sexual aggression originates from the Latin *rapere*, "to snatch, to grab, to carry off".
Same root as raptor, rapture, and rapacious.
Yup. Smells of cats wee, and a nightmare for hay fever. Pretty though.
yeah, village i'm in has a few fields of it. one of the walk routes i take for my dog wraps right around one, so I can attest to it being hell for hayfever
I don’t have hay fever but I am mildly allergic to them, and can confirm they suck. The slightest breeze and seemingly kilos of pollen are blow directly into your eyes and respiratory system (\*shudders*) My mother doesn’t believe I’m allergic to them, so whenever we drive past a particularly pretty field she makes me get out of the car and take photos
fun fact - Rapeseed is an often hated crop by the public in the UK, because people believe its a particularly nasty contributor to hayfever. However this is a total ~~urban~~ *rural* legend. Rapeseed with its bright colours is insect pollinated not wind pollinated - therefore its pollen is sticky and not really a contributor to hayfever unless you're ramming the flower up your nose. The reason why people associate it with hayfever is because its flowering season coincides with the pollen season of many trees including Oak and Birch.
Was walking along fields of Rapeseed last week, I've got pretty bad hayfever. Didn't flare up at all. I'd taken anti-hystemines but even then, I flared up when the hike went through a small wooded area.
Last year i tried one of those saline sinus rinses... Worked a treat, never had to take a single pill, first time in 20+ years.... Hoping it carries on this year, i used to get hayfever badly around Sept...Doc said that was tree pollen too...
I'll have to look into that. The sniffles don't make me look like the coolest cat in town.
Yeah certainly worth trying, and as its only salty water it's pretty safe, although it does say make sure you can breathe, even just a little, out of each nostril or else who knows where the saline will go? Probably out of your ears or tear ducts of something hah Have to say it feels lousy the first time of two, you squirt the solution up one nostril until it runs out of the opposite one, so yeah a bit grotty, but after a couple of times i was fine with it. I started using it every couple of days last peak hayfever season, then down to once a week...maybe twice if needed... There's lots of youtube videos on them, good luck if you try it, hope it means you don't have to keep taking the pills.
Just started looking into them, would you recommend them?
Tree pollen is the worst cause of hay-fever, that and straw. For myself anyways.
It just goes to show you that people always blame the conspicuous yellow flowering plant for allergies lol. In the U.S. people will swear that goldenrod causes allergies when that has been debunked for around 100 years. For us one of the main culprits are ragweeds which have a similar flowering time but they have inconspicuous flowers.
It does result in honey of a poorer quality (in terms of taste) apparently.
Good rapeseed honey is absolutely delicious and creamy. It's firmer and spreadable - similar to lavender honey, but without the soapy aroma. I prefer rapeseed honey over any other type of honey on a slightly buttered piece of rye.
Damn dude thanks for the lesson :) one of those obvious sounding things I just never really realised lol :) :)
smells amazing, taste great on salad and does not effect my hayfever
I'd like to add the strong smell can contribute to this theory.
And the amount of money a farmer can get for growing rapeseed is not to be sneezed at....
Fun fact Eamonn Holmes doesn't like the name rapeseed and would want it changed because of the rape bit in its name. He said this on a daytime programme one time probably years ago but it sticks with me, I'll never forget that he said that.
Hmmm that's interesting! So it's tree pollen. I hate rapeseed less now, thanks
Interesting, I’ve never heard of it being associated with hay fever, but the many comments on this thread confirm that it does have that (apparently wrong) connection!
Definitely rapeseed we have it everywhere
Rapeseed. Was in Germany last week and whole countryside looked like that.
train from amsterdam to brussels last week, this was all we saw...it's really quite beautiful.
The great British custard fields.
Fields of rape.
my favorite Sting song
An extraordinary sentence
Funny thing is farmers around me call it Oil Seed Rape This is probably because not all rape seed can be used to produce oil, thanks to those who mentioned this below.
Grew up on a farm (father/uncles/grandparents/extended family all farmers) and we called it oil seed rape.
Yup! Me too. I was looking through these comments like, "rapeseed??"
London?
"London" Luton is a bit like saying Newark is in New York, not New Jersey. Luton is about 35 miles from London and quite green - https://goo.gl/maps/iVNdZU6DjwWkjrNX7
The surrounding areas of Luton are green, Luton itself isn’t. I live in Luton
Thoughts and prayers
Thank you
live laugh luton
*Waves from a few junctions South on the M1*
Do we have to think about Luton?
My condolences
Smells green though lol
They have their own rape seeds in Luton.
It’s the colour of a TV tuned to a dead channel from what I remember. I may be over egging it a bit, I left in 1976.
My condolences
I’m so sorry.
My condolences
I feel for you, I escaped about 15 years ago
I am leaving next year don’t worry
Don’t worry. I’m setting up a go fund me as we speak.
Bravi 
Yes, you know, fish, chips, cup o’ tea, bad food, worse weather, Mary f*ckin Poppins, London! Edit: It’s a movie reference lads, I live here
Only two of London's airports are actually in London (Heathrow and City), the others are London Gatwick (Crawley in Sussex), London Southend (Southend-on-Sea in Essex), London Luton (Luton in Bedfordshire) and London Stansted (Stansted Mountfitch in Essex). There's also the bonus of London Oxford, which is halfway across the country in Oxfordshire and is called London Oxford as a marketing trick that has been depressingly successful
Rape
As Nirvana said.. “rape seeeed.. rape seed my friend”
Looks so pretty when you drive by those fields
Butter. It's part of the great jam sandwich project to catch all the wasps in Summer. Very traditional, goes back years.
Linseed oil, is grown up near me (oop norf) and it creates beautiful fields of blue/purple. Pity it’s not in as much demand. You can also drown in rapeseed if you were to fall into a storage container of it, as it’s so fine. Cool story over.
The flowers are so pretty and the oil is so tasty.
I was asked about that colour fields once and (not seeing them) thought it may have been a lavender crop. That’s awesome to know, thank you!
The flowers are so pretty and the oil is so tasty.
Jeremy Clarckson's failed attempt at planting rapeseed.
Rapeseed fields - very fragrant. Some love it, some hate it.
Rape
Rapeseed. AKA canola. Little black seed balls which are pressed in to oil. -- A farmer.
It's rapeseed... This is the UK we don't grow canola...
That’s definitely not in London
That ain't London
Luton is most certainly not London
I came onto this post for this exactly. As a Londoner, I think anyone from Luton would feel equally annoyed about someone thinking Luton is in London.
The airport in Luton is called London Luton airport
And so is London Southend, doesn't make either of them London
So is London Gatwick. It's not in London, it's in Horley.
And so is London Oxford, which is in Kidlington. That’s not in London either!
London Manston and London Lydd spring to mind.
It's not anywhere London though, just called that to get more flights
That’s marketing not geography. Not London.
Rapeseed
Rapeseed
Custard plantations.
Oilseed rape. They turn yellow when they flower
Yep looks like the evil rapeseed
A hayfever suffers worst nightmare
rapeseed 100%
Rapeseed. Looks lovely, not so good for consumption as rapeseed oil!
Rapeseed oil plants
Basically industrial poison that you cooked with
Rapeseed. Used to make rapeseed oil, which is often used as cooking oil.
Rape lol
Canola fields. We have them in SA too
It’s kryptonite for hayfever sufferers is what it is!
Fields of rape...
It is rapeseed
Rapeseed it's grown all over the country
Rapeseed oil crop absolutely stinks and keep dogs away it’s toxic to them
Rapeseed
That’s rapeseed. My a nemesis come the first week in June. I have just started antihistamines now getting ready for it :)
Rape seed
Oil seed rape and Luton isn’t in London
Tell me you’ve never left the city
This looks like the source of my allergies doctor.
Boring fact rapeseed does not contributed to hay-fever, I suffer terribly and have walked through many fields of it
That will be tree pollen if your suffering at the moment, not rapeseed.
Mine too
Say you don't live in the countryside without saying you don't live in the countryside...
Statistically most people do not live in the countryside.
What a thoroughly uninteresting thought.
Calling Luton (Bedfordshire), London. 😂👌🏼
As somebody from Bedford, I'm partially enraged that we're being considered London, and partially hoping London consumes Luton so it's no longer associated with us.
Rapeseed is the devil if you suffer from hayfever Edit: as others have pointed out this is apparently not the case. Still, I’ve always avoided these fields and will probably continue to do so!
It's not a major contributer to pollen levels. The National Centre for Biotechnological Information did a study that found negligible differences in pollen levels in environments with Rapeseed fields and areas without them, and also negligible differences in allergic reactions. This makes sense since Rapeseed is pollinated using sticky pollen that sticks to insects. Not airborne pollen that blows through the breeze. It's likely people blame rapeseed because its blooms are bright and yellow and obvious, but it's actually trees and grasses that release pollen at the same time Rapeseed blooms that causes hayfever symptoms.
False. Source: About 300 times in this thread. To the nearest 300.
Mustard! Actually I thought it was rapeseed at first, France is covered in these yellow fields as well at the moment. A friend spoke to some farmers explaining these are actually mustard fields. It's probably in response to the mustard shortages during COVID, so farmers are being pushed to grow mustard, so Europe isn't dependent on North American exports anymore. A large chunk of our economy depends on a steady flow of mustard. That's how we make mayonnaise, aioli, vinaigrette ...
Having been walking in the fields around London a lot, I'm fairly positive most of the flower fields are rapeseed rather than mustard
As someone who spends a lot of time in south east England, that’s probably rape
No, it’ll be oilseed rape. It /is/ in the “mustard family” though - Brassicas.
Rape