HEMP
“Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?” Henry Ford
Christopher Columbus sailed the world with Hemp sails and ropes made of Hemp, the crew would eat the protein-rich seeds, at night wearing his hemp nightshirt he would read his hemp paper bible, by a light fueled by hemp oil…(1)
Hemp a most useful plant is another great asset in our toolbox for a better planet. Humans have used hemp for thousands of years. Unfortunately, hemp was outlawed in many parts of the world due to being a “controlled substance”, this has been a problem for many years as there as so many varieties and the amounts of the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) vary considerably. Typically, hemp contains below 0.3% THC, while cultivars of Cannabis grown for medicinal or recreational use can contain anywhere from 2% to over 20%. I’m here to raise awareness of “Industrial Hemp” and the many advantages of this wonderful easy-to-grow, recyclable, non-toxic, and biodegradable crop. The stigma attached to hemp needs to be addressed, people need to be educated about the fact that Hemp is possibly a game-changer on the way we produce a plethora of products whilst at the same time capturing and storing huge amounts of C02.
Many solutions for our future are found by looking at our past, the use of Hemp is one such product. History shows that hemp went out of favor and was replaced with petroleum-based plastic products like nylon, acrylic, and polyester. We must get away from petroleum-based plastics and turn to natural biodegradable products like hemp with Its wide variety of uses and benefits is almost endless. From being a food source to building products, high strength yet lightweight composite car parts, biodegradable diapers, cosmetics, shoes, carpets, rope, insulation, bioplastics, medicine, and even talk of a hemp-based battery!
All this is from an easily grown crop that can be harvested in just a few months, hemp really does have the potential to be a game changer, a natural resource that has so many benefits from the economy to the environment.
“The production of Hemp is carbon negative, which means it absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere during its growth than is emitted by the equipment used to harvest, process, and transport it, one hectare of industrial hemp can absorb 15 tonnes of CO2 per hectare. Hemp’s rapid growth makes it one of the fastest CO2-to-biomass conversion tools available. It can also be used to regenerate soil after exposure to toxins. Restores soil health: Due to its vigorous growth, hemp is known to be a pioneer plant that can be used for land reclamation and indeed phytoremediation; ‘cleaning’ land polluted by heavy metals. Hemp is a valuable crop in so many ways, it needs to be talked about more, with people realizing what a wonder plant it really is in our toolbox for a better tomorrow.
more to come…