By Caity Ross
When most people hear the word “hemp”, an immediate association takes place – with its fun, care-free, stoner cousin, marijuana. Hemp and marijuana have two different purposes. If marijuana is the stoner of the family, hemp is the doctor, the contractor, the conservationist.
Hemp and marijuana are derived from the same plant: Cannabis. They both serve different purposes. Hemp is a term for high-growing varieties of the Cannabis plant and its products, which include fiber, oil and seed. Hemp is refined into products such as hemp seed foods, hemp oil, wax, resin, rope, cloth, pulp, paper and even fuel. Cannabis sativa, on the other hand, contains the high content of tetrahydrocannabinol, which recreational users fancy. “Through the process of artificial selection, evolution done by and caused by people for the benefit of people, the Cannabis plant has been designed to grow differently for different features,” explained Dr. Mione, a Plant Systematics & Plant Reproductive Biology scientist and professor of the CCSU Biology Department.
With that out of the way let’s focus on hemp and a few facts you should know about it:
HEMP: Let’s eat it.
Hemp seeds can be eaten raw or be turned into milk, tea or butter. Brands like Now Foods and Living Harvest’s are in the business of producing hemp products including chocolate hemp milk and protein powder. Why? Hemp is not only full of fats and amino acids but is filled with protein and classified as allergen free. Hemp products are an excellent alternative to dairy, gluten and peanut products in a world where more and more people experience a form of allergy associated with the latter.
According to Living Harvest’s website, hemp is a provider of omega 3, omega 6, all the essential amino acids and a good source of protein. Hemp has a natural perfect balance of omega 3 to omega 6 which can lower the risk of heart disease, reduce anxiety and depression and assist in brain development and immune health.
Global Hemp, the portal to the hemp community, was founded in 1996 by Eric Pollitt in an attempt to educate people on hemp, its benefits and create a center for hemp products. According to Global Hemp, hemp contains a form of protein called Edestin, which is only found in hemp. This type of protein is 65% of the seed and is not only the backbone of DNA cells and a stress reliever, but also resembles the type of protein in blood plasma, which makes it highly compatible with digestion, explaining hemp’s ability to be allergen free.
HEMP: The wolf can huff & puff but he won’t blow the Hemp house down.
If you take the woody core of the hemp stalk and mix it with lime and water you get Hempcrete, a form of hemp based concrete used as a material for construction and insulation. Hemp Technologies, founded in 2008 by Greg Flavall, and the late David Ray Madera, specializes in utilizing hemp in this nature.
Their company uses hemp-lime concrete in building projects. According to Hemp Technologies, Hempcrete is extremely beneficial for its energy efficiency, non-toxic impact on the environment, ability to be 7 times stronger than normal concrete, and especially its ability to not only absorb CO2 but release oxygen!
Some Benefits of Hempcrete, according to Hemp Technologies:
– Thermal Mass Insulation
– Negative Carbon
– Low Density
– Clean Air
– High Thermal Resistance
– High Thermal Inertia
– Vapor Permeable (breathable)
– Design Flexibility (adjustable thickness)
– Fire and Pest Resistant (NO Termites)
– Significantly Reduce Co2 Emissions
– Inherently Airtight
– No Waste
– No Mould
– No Termites
– No Dry Rot
– Natural Substrates for Plasters and Renders
– Low Air Infiltration
– Zero Land Fill
3. HEMP: Let’s save the sea turtles with hemp-based plastic bottles.
Hemp is high in cellulose, a material that makes up plant cell walls, and is the main ingredient in the creation of plastic. Unlike typical plastic, hemp plastic is nearly 100% biodegradable, has a high tolerance for heat and can be nearly three times stronger.
In 1941, Henry Ford, the founder of Ford, created his first Model-T car – not just running on hemp gasoline, the car itself was reinforced with hemp based plastic. According to Collective Evolution, an alternative media and production company, Henry Ford’s hemp plastic panels were 10 times stronger than normal steel panels.
How does this save the turtles? Hemp plastic is biodegradable and does not have the health risks that go hand in hand with the plastic glass fibers or chemicals found in generic plastic. Hemp plastic is an intelligent alternative to generic plastic.
HEMP: Our Origin & History Heavily Involves Its Use
“We have relied on plant fibers as a human race for everything,” said Dr. Mione. It’s true, especially for hemp. Hemp can be traced back to Central Asia, where hemp fibers were used for paper in China.
According to the Hemp Industries Association or the HIA, hemp fiber based paper and clothing is more durable, longer lasting and stronger than wood or cotton-based products. Hemp paper can be recycled up to seven times; wood pulp paper only capable of being recycled four times.
Hemp fiber-based clothing is also nearly three times stronger than cotton, and is not only frost and heat tolerant, but is also resistant to the affects of mildew, insects and light.
With numerous benefits possible when utilizing hemp, in place of regularly used materials, it is important to remember that the United States of America is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not recognize the value of industrial hemp and permit its production.