How the seed oils debate has ignited in the UK

Of all the topics to ignite furore among the US establishment, seed oils might seem an unlikely candidate. But what began as a relatively niche, predominantly online debate about the health dangers of the so-called Hateful Eight (rapeseed, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, soy, rice brand, sunflower and safflower oils) has made it all the way to the inner sanctums of the White House.

US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has claimed the American public is being “unknowingly poisoned” by seed oils, which make up roughly 20% of caloric intake in the US. Along with fruit loops and the “toxic soup” of school lunches, he sees them as central to his bid to MAHA (‘make America healthy again’). And now the backlash is making its way to the UK.

Health and wellness influencers this side of the Atlantic are unleashing a tirade against the ‘toxic oils’, with dire warnings about cancer, heart disease and even death, all set to ominous soundtracks on TikTok. And joining them, albeit a little less sensationally, is a growing roster of seed oil-free brands that are emerging across sauces, snacks and skincare (see box below).

So, how valid are concerns about seed oils? Are fears about their impact on our health already beginning to change dietary habits? And if so, could we see the scale of the seed oil-free movement in consumer goods start to gain real commercial momentum?

Extracting edible oil from plant seeds only became possible about 100 years ago.

The story goes that a German scientist presented P&G with a process that added hydrogen to cottonseed oil to turn it into a semi-solid fat. It looked and behaved a little like lard but cost far less to produce. In 1911, the consumer goods company began selling it as Crisco, an all-vegetable shortening that soon became a mainstay in American kitchens, spurning a raft of spinoffs, including the likes of Trex here in the UK.

From that point, “it was off to the races” for seed oils, says Jeff Nobbs, CEO and co-founder at Zero Acre, an alternative cooking oil derived from sugarcane.

Perhaps the most impactful inflection point in their consumption came in the 1960s and 1970s, when health bodies condemned animal-based butter and lard for clogging up arteries and sending cases of heart disease through the roof. plant-based cooking oils, such as rapeseed and sunflower, were quickly embraced as healthier alternatives.

By the 1990s, fast food chains had made the switch from beef tallow to vegetable fats, with McDonald’s opting for a blend of corn and cottonseed oil to cook its famous fries. And though realisations about the toxicity of artificial trans fats in partially hydrogenated spreads like margarines led to changes in how seed oils are processed, their affordability, abundance and perceived healthiness have made them a linchpin of both home cooking and consumer packaged foods ever since.

In fact, according to Zero Acre, global production of vegetable oils has doubled in the past 20 years, and is expected to grow 30% in the next four.

Murmurings of malcontent

Questions around seed oils – even using the term ‘seed oils’ to distinguish them from other plant-based oils, like olive and avocado – didn’t really emerge until the past decade. The first murmurings of malcontent can be traced back to the late 2000s – “I’ve been interested in this since 2009, [as have] corners of the internet,” says Nobbs – but those didn’t start to reach the mainstream until the late 2010s, led by the likes of health influencer Paul Saladino and investigative journalist Nina Teicholz. In line with broader conversations and concerns around UPFs, that dialogue has begun to grow significantly louder in the past couple of years.

The argument is that the sheer quantity of seed oils in western diets makes them disastrous for public health. There appears to be a few strands to this. One is that the processing methods used to extract oils from seeds use high temperatures and harsh chemicals, which strip nutrients. Second is that they contain high levels of omega-6, often linoleic acid. Though small quantities of omega-6 (which the body can’t make itself) are essential, seed oil naysayers claim that too much triggers inflammation and cellular damage, leading to all sorts of health conditions, ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s. And the third strand is that heating these oils only compounds their toxicity as they break down rapidly and release harmful by-products, some of which are carcinogenic.

“Forty per cent of American adults have multiple chronic diseases,” says Nobbs. “Four out of 10 people walking around have diabetes, heart disease, cancer or dementia. The majority of people are metabolically unhealthy. And a lot of us are scratching our heads and wondering what changed, because this wasn’t the case 50 or 60 years ago. A lot certainly has changed in that time, but our consumption of seed oils is one of the things that has changed the most.

“They used to be a negligible part of our diet and now, in the US, 20% of our calories come from vegetable oils. That’s correlation not causation, but it has led to people questioning them.”

Confusingly for consumers, the defenders of seed oil are just as voracious as its critics. “This backlash against seed oils is largely driven by misinformation, and I think part of it is the appeal of a simple villain,” believes Sarah Berry, chief scientist at Zoe. “Online influencers love neat, black-and-white narratives, but nutrition science is rarely that simple. I’ve seen first-hand the backlash when you speak up against a popular belief online – but we need to put an end to this nutri-nonsense.”

The evidence against seed oils simply doesn’t stack up, she insists. “When we look at the most robust scientific data, seed oils – particularly those high in oleic and linoleic acid like rapeseed oil and sunflower oil – are associated with a lower risk of heart disease and improved cholesterol profiles.”

Human trials also haven’t demonstrated that polyunsaturated fats like linoleic acid cause inflammation, she says. “It actually does the opposite in many cases. It lowers inflammation and LDL cholesterol and reduces markers of heart disease risk. We’ve seen that when people replace saturated fats like butter with seed oils, their risk of cardiovascular events can drop by up to 20%,” she adds. “That’s a huge public health win, and we shouldn’t ignore it because of online fearmongering. Unfortunately, ‘seed oils are toxic’ is a more viral message than ‘they lower your cholesterol and reduce your heart disease risk’. Fear spreads fast, but science takes a bit more time and nuance.”

Back and forth

You could write a book on the back and forth between the two opposing sides. In fact, people already have. There are also scathing thought pieces, YouTube rants and hour-long podcasts where people debate the veracity of the evidence.

Nobbs, for example, insists that much of the science defending seed oils is observational in nature. “It’s based on biomarkers as opposed to actual health outcomes,” he says. He points to the Minnesota Coronary Experiment to illustrate his point.  The five-year controlled trial, published in 2016, linked increased consumption of seed oils with lower LDL cholesterol but higher incidences of death from heart disease. (It’s also worth noting this study was heavily criticised for methodological shortcomings.)

“It’s not just a trend, it’s a shift in how people think about food and health”

By contrast, Kate Overy, nutrition science and communications lead at Oatly, which uses rapeseed oil in its drinks, highlights a 2025 study that tracked the diets of 221,054 men and women over 33 years. It found that a 10g daily increase in plant-based oil consumption (such as canola, soybean, and olive oils), was associated with a 13% lower risk of death from all causes, 11% lower risk of death from cancer, and 6% lower risk of death from cardiovascular diseases.

“Claims against seed oils, however, continue to circulate from non-credible profiles, resulting in a whirlwind of noise that has both scaremongered and failed to break down the information at its source,” she says. “We’ve been researching oats, oat drinks and their nutritional benefits for over 30 years, and that’s why we’re committed to sharing the facts and using science-based evidence to correct these claims.”

For the public, it makes it incredibly challenging to decipher the truth. But it’s clear that many are convinced by the criticisms and are changing their habits accordingly. In the US, more than a quarter (28%) of people already actively avoid seed oils, according to a study by the International Food Information Council. And major high street names have begun to respond.

Starbucks is reportedly looking to remove rapeseed oil from some items on its menu, while Sweetgreen, the largest salad chain the US, received stick from nutritionists for flagging the absence of seed oils in one of its latest marketing campaigns.

Here in the UK, while still a small part of the market, there’s a steadily growing roster of food and beauty brands proactively siding with the anti-seed oil side of the debate.

“Our customers are actively seeking alternatives to seed oils, whether for health reasons or food values,” says Arita Sadiku, the co-founder of Sussex crisp startup Talloes, which uses chicken fat (tallow) instead. “Being proudly seed oil-free sets us apart in a crowded snack market. It’s not just a label, it’s our mission. We’ve built trust with a community that cares deeply about what goes into their food, and the fact we only use three simple ingredients is a big part of that.”

At health and supplement brand Hunter & Gather too, being seed oil-free “is absolutely central to our mission”, says co-founder Jeff Webster. “When customers see that seed oil-free statement, they know it reflects our integrity and their values.” The brand talks widely about its decision to exclude seed oils across its product pages, packaging and customer communications, he adds, “to highlight the absence of seed oils as a marker of quality and transparency in a market saturated with ultra-processed condiments and cooking fats”.

Read more:

• Sink or swim? Trends in oils 2025

• Filippo Berio sales down in 2024 as olive oil price hikes lingered

• Oil specialist KTC Edibles bought by Whitworths Food Group

The pushback against seed oils is only going to grow, believes Sadiku. “We’ve seen first-hand how engaged and motivated UK consumers are becoming, especially in online wellness spaces,” she says. “While the US has led the charge, the UK is catching up fast. As awareness grows, we believe there’s a huge opportunity for brands that offer truly clean label, seed oil-free alternatives. It’s not just a trend, it’s a shift in how people think about food and health.”

Whether or not the seed oil-free movement in the UK will remain relatively niche, or reach the profile it has in the US, remains unclear. And, given the divisiveness of the debate, the question of whether or not brands should openly shout about their seed oil-free status remains. Unsurprisingly, there’s little consensus to be found.

“We should absolutely be cautious about products marketed as ‘seed oil-free’. These ‘free-from’ labels can be misleading,” says Zoe’s Berry. “They play on fear, not facts. So as a scientist, I’d say: don’t just look at the front of the pack – look at the whole picture and follow the robust research, not false facts from influencers.”

For Webster, it’s a familiar story. “We were told for years that smoking was safe and margarine and trans fats were better than butter. In the end, it was independent science, not food politics, that forced the rethink. The same is happening now with seed oils.”