HEMP.. THE WORLD'S MOST EXTRAORDINARY PLANT

Imagine one crop that heals disease like magic, provides highly nutritious food, low-cost building material, fibres for clothing, solves energy demands, grows faster, fights climate issues; cleans the air, repairs the toxic soil or simply imagine anything from the need to greed. Seems like a magical crop? Yes, it is, it exists and looks something like this...

Hang on! Marijuana???  Umm.. not at all. 
(Image credits: Stephanie M Grande)

Its Hemp (Cannabis Sativa), belongs to the same Marijuana family, Cannabis. Unlike marijuana, hemp has an extremely low amount of THC's (Tetrahydrocannabinoids) which has absolutely no effect when you smoke hemp. Hemp is considered as one of the first crops that human beings cultivated and has a long and distinguished history (around 12,000 years). It's an incredible crop with thousands of applications including clothes, high strength composites, plastics, paper, medicine, cosmetics, food, building material...and literally endless! 

Hemp is the ultimate cash crop, producing more fibre, food, and oil than any other plant on the planet -Wm. Conde. Click to read an article by Wm Conde

Here's a short video (2.5 mins) on the history of hemp 

So what all a hemp crop can do? ~a crop with unlimited potential
Every part of the crop is put for the good use, its seeds provide almost all vitamins and minerals that a human body requires, its fibres are considered as the most durable of all other natural fibres, these fibres are used for clothing, composites for automotive bodies,  ropes, paper, its oil serves thousands of applications including manufacturing body care products, medicine, plastics, biofuel... 

Hemp fibres for Clothing ~the environmental super fibres

Hemp requires no/limited pesticides to grow and its fibres are considered as the super fibres. Compared to the equivalent amount of cotton production, hemp requires 30-40% of water to grow and produce 250% more fibre with the same amount of land. The textile is more durable and doesn't wear off quickly. 

Hemp fibres for the Automotive industry 

Hemp fibres have excellent mechanical properties and found suitable to use in the composites industry. Hemp-based composites can be moulded into almost any shape to create a variety of products. Brands like BMW and Mercedes (Daimler) use hemp-based composites in their cars to reduce weight and achieve better recyclability. 

In 1941, Henry Ford (founder of Ford motor company) demonstrated a car made from hemp and other annual crops and ran it from hemp fuel. The body panels were 10X stronger than steel and lighter than other cars that made out of steel. (Image source: The great book of hemp by Rowan Robinson)

Hemp seeds for Health ~a superfood

Hemp seeds (known as hemp hearts) are considered as a complete protein source, it provides almost all vitamins and minerals that a human body requires. They contain over 30% healthy fats including omega-3 and 6 (with an optimal ratio of 1:4), stearidonic and gamma linoleic acids which are good for the heart and immune system. 

According to the UNICEF, undernutrition deaths among children accounts 3 million worldwide. Imagine what all these highly nutritious hemp seeds can do for toddlers.

Hemp seeds can be consumed raw, cooked or roasted, pressed for oil, grounded into protein powder and its milk contains the above fatty acids and also rich in protein and calcium. 

Hemp has been used as the medicinal plant for over 3500 years; it cures over 100 separate diseases and conditions. Hemp oil (cannabidiol oil/CBD oil) can balance sugar levels, treats cancer, relieves anxiety, reduces bacteria, reduce seizure (esp. in children) and helps in repairing damaged brain cells. 

Click here to know more about the health benefits of hemp seeds in your diet and the neurological benefits of CBD oil

Hemp for Sustainable building materials ~the ultimate building material

Hemp is stronger, lighter and sustainable building material; it can be made into plastic boards, fibre boards, wallboards, insulation, bricks, concrete and many more. The woody part of hemp can be mixed with lime (hempcrete) and replace concrete; Hempcrete is nontoxic, pest resistant, fire-resistant, sustainable and durable.

The Petro-based building materials can contaminate indoor air quality and cause serious health risks mainly to children. Check here to know more about toxic building materials and its effects 

Hemp for Energy ~the biofuel that is more environmental friendly than the popular biofuels 

Bioenergy is the fastest-growing source for renewable energy production. The problems with the existing sugar cane, corn, wheat, barley require a significant amount of fertile land causing deforestation and the real threat is the rise of food scarcity. Oil in hemp seeds contains 30-35%  of seed weight which roughly gives 300 gallons of oil per acre. This oil can be converted into biodiesel (for C.I (diesel) engines) and ethanol (for S.I (petrol) engines). The best thing about hemp is it requires no/fewer pesticides, grows on less fertile soil and its other parts can be used for other purposes and the leftover seed waste can be made into cakes for nutritious animal feed.

The quantity of grain needed to fill the tank (100 litres) of an SUV with ethanol is enough to feed one person for a year.

Hemp for Plastic industry (Hemp BioPlastic) ~Anything that made from petro-based can be made from hemp

The traces of plastics made from petroleum derivatives found in almost everything that we use (overuse) today and causing unimaginable destruction to our planet because they won't degrade or takes hundreds of years. Hemp plastics are made from its stalks which provide high cellulose content (60-70%) that required for the plastic construction. They are non-toxic and biodegradable; degrades in less than 4 months. 

Hemp for Paper industry

Hemp fibres are well suited for paper production, one acre of hemp yields 4 times as much as pulp than other trees can produce; 10 tons per acre in four months. The paper lasts much longer, stronger, does not decolour and they can be recycled 7 times whereas the normal paper recycles just 3-4 times. 

Hemp waste ~a material made from hemp waste can be better than Graphene* (the material that carries electricity efficiently than any other material) 

A scientist from New York's Clarkson University claims that the leftover hemp bast fibres can be made into a powerful energy-storing supercapacitor. The waste fibres are cooked to dissolve the lignin and semi cellulose and the leftover carbon nanosheets are found similar to the structure of graphene and the further process enabled to create a material with high energy density. 

(*for energy storage)

Hemp Graphene 

(Image credits: Richard Rose, Hemp nut Inc)

Hemp for Environment ~the saviour
Despite having such numerous applications, growing hemp actually repairs the soil and absorb 4 times more carbon dioxide than other plants. Chernobyl nuclear accident is considered as the world's worst nuclear disaster, one of its reactors explosion left dangerous radioactive materials into the atmosphere. IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) found the land (30 km explosion zone) was contaminated with various toxic materials. Hemp was considered to grow in the affected areas to decontaminate the affected land at a high rate. Such an incredible crop the hemp is. 

"Hemp is proving to be one of the best phyto-remediative plants we have been able to find" -Vyacheslav Dushenkov, PhytoTech

Sounds funny, yet true! Hemp has such potential

(Image credits: Colleen Byrd)

Hemp has several other applications that I have not mentioned here. It's truly an extraordinary crop. The environmental issue is rising and we are in a stage where if we can't stop polluting our earth, we cannot face the nature's fury and there won't be a  good future for our next generations. Hemp can really save the world, it serves thousands of applications, our future can be better with sustainable practices and what not hemp can not do? 





The sad part about this extraordinary plant is.. its illegal to grow. Yes, illegal! The reason is it looks similar to marijuana. Umm.. a valid reason to ban. Really???  

I must thank this beautiful lady, Stefanie Grande for her valuable contribution to this article. Some facts and images for this article are sourced from the Indie Hemp Facebook group managed by Stephanie. 

Cheers, Stephanie, XOXO :) 

Make the most of hemp seed. Sow it everywhere"

-George Washington, 1794