Yes, soybean oil is a seed oil. Soybeans are botanically classified as seeds of the Glycine max plant, and the FDA formally identifies the oil as “Glycine max seed oil” derived from the seed part of the plant. It appears on the widely circulated “Hateful Eight” list of seed oils alongside canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower, and safflower oils.
Why Soybeans Count as Seeds
The confusion is understandable. Soybeans are legumes, so many people mentally file them next to beans and lentils rather than sunflower seeds or flaxseeds. But legumes are seeds. A soybean is the seed of the soy plant, enclosed in a pod. When oil is extracted from it, the result is, by definition, a seed oil. The FDA’s substance database lists the source material as the seed of Glycine max, and one of its official synonyms is simply “Glycine max seed oil.”
How Soybean Oil Is Produced
Soybean oil goes through a multi-step industrial process that looks nothing like pressing olives. That processing is one reason seed oils draw criticism online.
The beans are first cleaned, dried, crushed, and dehulled to separate the inner bean from the outer shell. Those inner pieces are heated to about 71°C (160°F) to soften them, then rolled into thin flakes. Small-scale producers can press oil out mechanically at this point, but most commercial soybean oil is made using solvent extraction: the flakes are mixed with hexane, a chemical solvent that dissolves the oil out of the solid material. The solvent is then separated and recovered.
The crude oil that results still needs refining. It goes through degumming (hot water or acid removes gums and phospholipids), neutralization (an alkali solution removes free fatty acids), bleaching (clay or activated carbon strips color and impurities), and deodorization (heat under vacuum removes off-flavors). Some oil destined for salad dressings gets an additional “winterization” step that removes waxes so it stays clear when refrigerated. The final product is a neutral-tasting oil with a smoke point of about 234°C (453°F), which makes it popular for frying and processed foods.
What’s Actually in Soybean Oil
Soybean oil’s fatty acid profile is dominated by linoleic acid, an omega-6 fat, which makes up roughly 54 to 56% of the oil. Oleic acid, the same monounsaturated fat found in olive oil, accounts for about 19 to 21%. Alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fat, contributes around 8 to 9%. The rest is saturated fat, mostly palmitic and stearic acids.
That high omega-6 content is the central point of contention. Critics argue that omega-6 fats promote inflammation and that modern diets already contain far too much of them. Supporters counter that linoleic acid is an essential fat your body needs and cannot make on its own.
Does Soybean Oil Cause Inflammation?
The claim that seed oils drive chronic inflammation is one of the most popular health arguments on social media, but clinical evidence has not supported it. A randomized crossover trial in adults with overweight or obesity tested what happens when people eat 30 grams of soybean oil per day (about two tablespoons) for four weeks. Most inflammatory markers and oxidized LDL cholesterol remained unchanged. Interleukin-6, one marker of inflammation, showed a slight trend downward in the soybean oil group, though the result was not statistically significant.
Interestingly, the study did find that arachidonic acid, an omega-6 fat sometimes blamed for inflammation, actually decreased in red blood cells after soybean oil intake. The researchers concluded that higher linoleic acid intake from soybean oil is “not proinflammatory as is stated in popular media outlets.” The American Heart Association has echoed this position, stating there is no reason to avoid seed oils and “plenty of reasons to eat them.”
That said, soybean oil is calorie-dense like any fat, and it shows up in an enormous range of processed foods, from chips to frozen meals to fast-food fryers. People who eat a lot of ultra-processed food will naturally consume a lot of soybean oil, and the overall dietary pattern matters more than any single ingredient.
Most Soybean Oil Comes From GMO Crops
In the United States, 96% of soybeans planted in 2025 are genetically engineered varieties, nearly all modified for herbicide tolerance. That means the vast majority of conventional soybean oil on store shelves comes from GMO crops. If that matters to you, certified organic soybean oil cannot be made from genetically engineered beans. Some brands also carry a Non-GMO Project Verified label.
The genetic modifications in soybeans are designed to help the plant survive herbicide application during growing, not to change the oil’s composition. However, newer high-oleic soybean varieties have been developed through both conventional breeding and genetic engineering to contain more oleic acid and less linoleic acid, shifting the fat profile closer to olive oil’s.
How Soybean Oil Compares to Other Seed Oils
Among the eight seed oils commonly grouped together by critics, soybean oil sits in the middle of the pack for omega-6 content. Grapeseed and sunflower oils can contain 70% or more linoleic acid, while canola oil contains only about 20%. Soybean oil’s distinguishing feature is its relatively high alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) content at 8 to 9%, which is higher than most other common seed oils. That gives it a somewhat better omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, though it still tilts heavily toward omega-6.
Its high smoke point, neutral flavor, and low cost make it one of the most widely used cooking oils in the world. In the U.S., it is the most consumed edible oil by a wide margin, appearing in restaurant kitchens, packaged snacks, baked goods, and margarine. If you have been eating processed or fried food in the U.S., you have almost certainly been eating soybean oil regularly.