If US health czar Robert F. Kennedy Jr gets his way, Canada’s most valuable crop may soon face its biggest export challenge yet — not from pests, weather, or trade tariffs — but from the French fry fryer at MickeyD’s.
That’s because Canadian canola producers could soon find themselves on a collision course with a rising tide of anti-seed oil sentiment in the United States being led by RFK Jr. amid efforts to bring back saturated animal fats into the friers of America.
Kennedy, a vocal critic of industrial seed oils such as canola and soybean, has launched a crusade to replace them with alternatives like beef tallow and lard under his ‘Make America Healthy Again’ (MAHA) campaign.
As the world’s largest producer of canola, Canada exported $14.5 billion worth of canola oil and seed products in 2024, the vast majority of it grown on the Prairies.
The US and China were the top markets, accounting for $7.7 billion and $4.9 billion respectively. While China has already imposed tariffs on Canadian canola, any move by the US to restrict or tariff seed oil imports could amount to an “ideologically inflicted body blow,” as one analyst put it.
That possibility has become more real in recent weeks, with Kennedy doubling down on his claim that seed oils are “poisoning” Americans. “Seed oils are one of the most unhealthy ingredients we have in food,” he said in a recent interview, blaming them for chronic diseases ranging from obesity to heart disease.
Some fast-food chains have already begun removing canola and sunflower oil from their fryers altogether in favor of beef tallow, a trend Kennedy has actively encouraged. In a Thanksgiving video posted to social media, he deep-fried a turkey in beef fat, declaring, “This is how we cook the MAHA way.”
Meanwhile, farmers on both sides of the border are becoming increasingly alarmed.
A new study by the American Soybean Association (ASA) warns of massive “economic disruption” if the US government follows through with Kennedy’s anti-seed oil agenda.
The report estimates that banning soybean and canola would force American consumers to spend an additional USD$7.7 billion annually on imported palm and olive oils.
Notably, canola would be hit harder than soybean prices. That’s because canola seeds contain a higher proportion of oil — 44% compared to soy’s 19% — and a drop in US demand would more severely erode crush margins and price stability.
The ASA, which represents over 500,000 US growers, has pushed back on Kennedy’s claims. “Why would we rock that boat without any scientific reason?” asked ASA President Caleb Ragland.
Scientists have also raised alarm over the campaign’s nutritional messaging.
Seed oils are high in polyunsaturated fats, which have been linked to reduced levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and lower risk of heart disease compared to saturated animal fats. Kennedy’s critics accuse him of cherry-picking science and oversimplifying complex nutritional debates for political considerations.
Still, his movement continues to gain traction from online influencers and lifestyle gurus who claim that seed oils are responsible for everything from inflammation to infertility.
The core of Kennedy’s argument centers on the industrial process used to extract and refine the oils, which involves solvents like hexane and high-heat methods he describes as “unnatural.” His messaging has found resonance among a public increasingly skeptical of processed foods and “Big Ag.”
For Canada, the risks are real and immediate. With China’s tariffs already limiting market access, any US action — especially from a government led by Kennedy’s MAHA principles — could put a stranglehold on Canadian canola that could ripple through rural economies from Alberta to Manitoba.
