What is Industrial Hemp and What Can We Do with it?
by Marianne Graff, Published on Sept 28,2024
About a hundred years ago, and for more than a century before that, the word ‘hemp’ used to bring visions of sail rope and sail cloth to mind. It was the material of choice since it is strong, durable, doesn’t mould and is naturally pest resistant.
But in modern society this handy plant has all but been forgotten.
Read on to find out why.
A Quick Overview of the History of Industrial Hemp
The Land Journal, Nebula and the UK Hemp Foundation recount the fascinating and dramatic history of Industrial hemp.
Hemp cultivation is present in archeological records,dating back to 4200 BCE in Varna, Bulgaria, and is reported to have fuelled Asian economies dating as far back as 8000- 5000 BCE.
But it was been almost forgotten in modern times.
Why?
Since 1942 the word hemp has been lumped in with marijuana, a distinctly different plant from its famous cousin, Marijuana, another member of cannabis plant family. After the famous and wildly influential “Reefer Madness” campaign, all members of the cannabis plant family were categorically banned by legislation.
This prohibition lasted from 1942 until the 1990s, with a brief respite around WW2 when hemp was allowed to be grown for textiles for the war effort.
In the 1990s, legislation changed in some countries around the world regarding the cannabis plant family, and it has been slowly increasing in popularity once again. Growth of Industrial Hemp markets have been slow due to lingering associations with Marijuana, and overshadowed by medicinal hemp and CBD oil industry.
It’s important to know that Industrial Hemp, (culiva sativa L.), has very different properties than its smokable cousin. While marijuana has 30% THC, a psychoactive components, officially endorsed Industrial Hemp varieties contain less than .03%. There is no possible way to get ‘high’ from smoking Industrial Hemp.
While there are medicinal uses for Industrial Hemp (e.g. Industrial Hemp leaf tea), there are other ways to use Industrial Hemp that if trapped into, will eclipse the medicinal hemp industries in market share.
What is amazing about the Industrial Hemp plant is that it is possible to use it in so many ways, and each one of the ways is hugely impactful in its own right.
The hardy and humble Industrial Hemp plant could revolutionize many industries and improve the quality of life for people, animals and ecosystems on the planet.
Every part of this plant has at least one extraordinary property.
Industrial Hemp Roots
The Industrial Hemp plant has a deep taproot root system, often measured to be around 3 feet deep.
This deep root system helps water penetrate deeply into the soil. This nourishes the microbiome, and anchors the soil, as well as prevents soil loss from rain runoff and wind erosion.
In addition to aerating the soil and assisting with water absorption and anchoring the soil, some studies report that the roots contain a special compound that encourages the development of healthy microbial environments.
In addition, studies and regenerative agricultural experts have documented how this plant is especially good at bringing soil back to life by absorbing carbon and nitrogen out of the air and putting it back in the soil, regenerating the soil and healing it.
Not only does Industrial Hemp grow very well in depleted soil, it even grows well in heavily contaminated soil.
Many studies indicate that Industrial Hemp is an excellent plant for phytoremediation of radioactive and polluted soils. It has been proven to have the amazing ability to pull toxic chemicals such as lead and cadmium out of the ground. Miraculously, the plant shows no damage despite drawing toxic chemical from the soil it grows in, storing the harmful chemicals safely in its leaves and stems. It was one of the plants used in phytoremediation after the Chernobyl incident.
In sum, Industrial Hemp heals the soil it grows in in many different ways, leaving it in better condition than before.
It is often used as a cover crop for this reason, but it has even more beneficial uses.
Industrial Hemp Stems
The stems contain two different parts: Hemp Hurd (shiv) and Hemp Cellulose.
Hemp hurd is extremely useful for textiles, and paper products.
It can also replace manufactured wood products such as plywood and wood flooring.
Switching to using Industrial Hemp derived wood products would prevent our forests from being cut down, which would be a positive move for animals and ecosystems on the planet.
The stems also contain cellulose, which is present in very high amounts in this plant compared to other plants (comprising 70% of the stem).
Industrial Hemp cellulose can be used to make plastics that could replace every conventional plastic on the planet.
This is a very eco-friendly alternative to the very environmentally destructive petro-chemically derived conventional plastics currently in use.
Industrial Hemp stem fibers can be used to make healthier houses and buildings, too. Hemp can be used to make non-toxic building materials that are equal or superior in quality to wood composites, and synthetic materials. Industrial Hemp cross beans are 10 times stronger than steel cross beans. Hemp can even be used to make a slightly opaque glass. Check out the building of their Industrial Hemp house in the video ‘Harmless Home‘ in 2019.
But there’s more.
Industrial Hemp biofiber is also used as a high quality animal bedding that is soft, insulates well, breathes but is antifungal, and is naturally pest resistant. Chickens, horses and other animals love it, from reports in the field. So do the humans who take care of them, since hemp hay is not dusty, isn’t prone to mould, and is super absorbent, and easy to work with and change..
Industrial Hemp Leaves
The leaves can be used as highly nutritious animal feed.
As an added bonus, Industrial Hemp has been tested and proven to be very excellent mulch for garden and farm use.
In ancient times, Pliny the Elder wrote about using hemp leaves as medicinal tea. Teas made from Industrial Hemp are available for sale today, and producers such as Pure Hemp Botanicals report it is highly nutritious due to the presence of a full range of plant terrines.
Industrial Hemp Seeds
While Medicinal Hemp seeds are rated as a superfood for humans, animals can eat the seeds of Industrial Hemp plants and benefit from the seeds’ rare and highly nutritious properties. Industrial hemp feed is like vitamin supplements for animals.
In addition to being ‘fuel’ for animals, Industrial hemp seeds can fuel human vehicles and more.
Oil pressed from the seeds can be used to make ethanol, methanol and diesel fuels that are superior in many ways to petrochemical fuels.
Industrial Hemp has also completed successful trials as a replacement for lithium batteries, according to signature products.com.The results indicate hemp powered batteries are cheaper, more economical and less polluting than traditional batteries and could be used to replace lithium batteries in electric cars.
Signature products.com reports that there are 25,000 products in the marketplace that are already derived from hemp in part, or completely.
And this is just the beginning.
We have barely begun to tap into this amazing plant’s full potential.
The future of this versatile plant is exciting, since it has the potential to revolutionize many industries that are polluting the planet, replacing ecologically damaging products with many very eco-friendly alternatives.
Stay tuned for more articles with deep dives into different aspects of the Industrial Hemp.
Sources
- Arscott,D. “What do Hemp Fiber, Soil Health and Water Quality Have in Common?”N.D.
2. Creatively United for the Planet. “A Home Building Revolution:The Harmless Home”.16 Aug 2019.
3. Hemp Foundation. What are the top five uses of hemp fiber? (2019)
4.Huang, S., Li, H., Xu, J. et al. Chemical constituents of industrial hemp roots and their anti-inflammatory activities. J Cannabis Res 5, 1 (2023).
5. Industrial Hemp Researched for Cattle Feed.
Nebula TV Channel.“Why this Plant Could Save our World” Our Changing Climate.13 Aug. 2021
6. Pure Hemp Botanicals “Hemp Tea” N.D.
7. Schmid, L. “Hemp Batteries:A Possible Alternative to Graphene and Lithium?” Signature Products.com, 7 Mar. 2022.
8. Schmid,L. “Top Ten Best Uses of Hemp: A Versatile All Rounder?16 Sept 2022”. Signature products.com
9. Schroeder, M. “The History of European Hemp Cultivation”, Dissertation. No 567. Department of Geology. Lund University 2019.
10. Propaganda Time. Reefer Madness, Original Trailer 1936. 03 Oct 2011
11. Regenerative Farmers of America.“Regenerative Hemp”. Cultivating Hope with Regenerative Farming.N.D.
12. The Black Brain Trust. “Black Cannabis Talk EP880: Phytoremediation – How Hemp Saved Chernobyl + The Endocannabinoid System” 17 Mar. 2024.
13.The Healing Cowgirl. “Hemp Bedding Solutions from the Healing Cowgirl” 7 June 2022.
14. The land Journal Channel.“The Early History of Hemp.” N.D. PurePower Blog”The benefits of hemp for regenerative agriculture“. N.D.
15. UK Hemp Unlimited.“The History of the Hemp Plant”.N.D.
