I know we were talking about canola oil, but I thought it might be
an eye-opener for everyone to see what they can do to an oil
and still label it "cold-pressed!"  These people would kill every
person in the US if they thought they could make a buck doing
it! -- Jay

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From an article in Alternative Medicine Magazine, by Tim O'Shea:

The first step in soy processing is high-temperature cooking to try and get
rid of the phytic add. High temperatures denature the natural enzymes of the
soybean. Without enzymes, any plant becomes a devitalized food, very
difficult to digest in the human tract. Remember that enzymes, vitamins and
minerals are three legs of the tripod of metabolic activity. Take away any
one and the other two cannot function properly.

After cooking, soy oil is removed by one of two paths: pressing or solvent
extraction. Soybean oil is rarely cold-pressed, as many claim, but is
usually subjected to heat, which produces destructive free radicals. An
easier method of oil extraction is by the use of solvents. Several are used
in soybean oil processing. Hexane, a petroleum distillate, is the standard
chemical used. Traces of this toxic solvent may be left behind in the
finished products, both in the oil and in the protein isolate.

The next step in the refining process is degumming, the removal of residual
fiber, or gum, from the oil. The problem is that valuable trace minerals
like calcium, copper, magnesium and iron, as well as chlorophyll, are
removed as well.

Next, the refined oil is mixed with sodium hydroxide (which is what drain
cleaners are made of) at a temperature of 167°F. The purpose of this step is
to remove any remaining free fatty acids.

To remove extra pigments and make the oil completely clear, bleaching is
accomplished by more high heat, followed by filtering. Other free radicals
called peroxides are thus introduced.

Deodorizing is then thought to be necessary to destroy any natural
aromatics. This process uses extreme heat, up to 518°F, which destroys
whatever vitality and antioxidants the oils might have left. The oil is thus
rendered absolutely tasteless, colorless and odorless. It is now devoid of
any useful vitamin, mineral, enzyme or nutrient content whatsoever.

And even though it has undergone extreme high temperatures at several steps,
as long as no external heat was added during the actual pressing step, the
oil can still be sold as "cold-pressed."

As if no further biological indignity could have been levied against the
lifeless processed oil, researchers in the 1930s at Dupont figured out a way
to harden the oil into a perfectly engineered non-food: margarine. They
found out that if they subjected the refined oil to yet another round of
high temperatures up to 410°F - and also forced hydrogen gas in the presence
of an aluminum catalyst through the oil, they could produce a substance with
the desired spreadability and shelf-life. That's what hydrogenated margarine
means. And at least 80% of the margarine made in the U.S. comes from refined
soybean oil.