Hemp, in case you didn’t know, has the Latin species name cannabis sativa.
Yes, it’s the same plant that produces marijuana, but a different strain, or breed if you will. Just as canis lupis includes chihuahua’s and Great Danes, Zea mays(corn) includes field
Image courtesy of The Cool Hemp Company
and bi-color sweet, cannabis sativa contains many varieties of cannabis. Hemp is a variety of cannabis that contains minuscule amounts of THC, the compound identified in marijuana that creates a psychotropic effect.
While marijuana contains between 2% to 20% THC, hemp grown in Great Britain cannot by law contain more than .02% THC. It cannot produce a high and it won’t show up as a false positive in any drug test unless extraordinary amounts are consumed.
Hemp has been used by humans for many thousands of years and for good reason. Among its many uses are as food, fiber, building material, paper pulp and thousands more. Even the word canvas comes from cannabis.
Hemp as a sustainable crop
Hemp is known as a sustainable crop. What does this mean? Are redwoods or Kentucky Bluegrass sustainable? Well, to be recognized as sustainable, according to the USDA a crop needs to
- satisfy human food and fiber needs;
- enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends;
- make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls;
- sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and
- enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.”
Image courtesy of The Cool Hemp Company
Hemp grown at Collabear Farms and surrounding farms for Good Oil meet all these conditions and many more. Hemp is grown, by law in Great Britain, pesticide free. No insecticides, herbicides or fungicides. It’s fine that Collabear Farms can’t use any of these chemicals because none are needed. Hemp grows very dense, enough to choke out any weeds that may want to share a patch of earth. Hemp has insect pests but can usually survive an attack. The same with diseases.
It requires little in the way of irrigation and fertilization. Hemp also grows a deep tap root, which conditions the soil for subsequent crops.
Hemp as a versatile crop
Every part of the hemp plant that Collabear Farms grows gets used for making Good stuff. The seeds are made into oil and the seed cake is made into hemp protein powder. The outer baste fiber is currently used by BMW is their 3 and 5 Series cars as a weight reducing fiber, increasing fuel efficiency. The inner core, called hurd, is used in the production of Hemcrete, a building material consisting of hemp hurd mixed with lime. Hemcrete is a very versatile material that has wonderful insulating qualities.
Even the dust blown off the seeds before pressing is used as bedding for worm farms.
And the leaves? They are left in the field to decompose and supply nitrogen for the next season’s crop.
Capturing CO2
Your purchase of Good hemp products helps to promote the other uses of hemp for society. Hemp is an excellent source of carbon sequestration. Each acre of hemp locks in 4 times the CO2 as an acre of trees. It’s there until it’s burned. Put another way, each bottle of Good Oil locks away the equivalent of a 40 mile car ride. 800 bottles of Good Oil produces enough hemp material to build a house, locking away 7.5 tons of CO2. More than the average house emits in a year.
Good Oil is but one example of the benefit of using hemp as a raw material for many of our
Henry Braham and Glynis Murray in a hemp field. Photo courtesy of Good Oil.
needs. The possibilities of hemp for paper, textiles and fuel are subjects for other times. You can use hemp today to your body’s great advantage, as well as the advantage of your loved ones. You’ll also use it to the Earth’s great advantage.
And it even tastes good. Hemp is a winner all the way around.
