Hemp 101 

Hemp: Nature’s Complete Food Source

DeHulled hemp seeds are 35% protein and contain the perfect balance of Omega 3, 6 & 9, the oils responsible for keeping our hearts strong, our skin shining, our energy levels up and our immune systems healthy.  

Mankind’s First Crop

Hemp was the first agricultural crop cultivated by man, with archaeological evidence showing whole societies in Asia who grew hemp for food, shelter and raw material over 12000 years ago. 

Hemp is not marijuana

The two plants are distant relatives, having similar physical appearances and structures but little more.  Marijuana flowers contain a chemical called THC which, when heated and ingested, causes intoxication.  Marijuana has been used for this reason as a medicine for thousands of years. 

Hemp, on the other hand, contains 0.00% THC, so has no narcotic effect on people.  Hemp has never been used as a medicine; it has strictly been used primarily as a fiber plant and secondarily as a food crop.  Health Canada only allows hemp to be grown with a government issued permit and requires mandatory lab testing to ensure that all hemp grown in Canada contains 0.00% THC.   

Hemp fibre is super strong!

Hemp fiber is the strongest plant material in the world.  It has been used to make fishnets, ropes, sails, clothing, paper, and concrete for thousands of years.  Aside from being the strongest, it also grows more abundantly than any other annual crop.  In optimal conditions one acre of hemp will produce 10 tons of usable fiber .

Hemp replaces toxic materials

Modern industrial techniques are now discovering ways to use hemp fiber to make fiberglass, cellulose plastics, ethanol fuel and insulation.  Most of these products are currently made with non-renewable petroleum by-products, which are toxic to our environments.  As hemp production in Canada increases so will our industrial production of hemp fiber products, creating healthier, sustainable products which we can use to build our homes, workplaces, fuels and materials. 

Hemp can save the forests

Hemp paper, plywood and building beams offer an alternative to the massive devastation caused by current forestry practices in most of the world.  One acre of hemp provides more raw materials for paper-making than 4 acres of trees.

Not all hemp is organic

Because hemp does not require any herbicides and pesticides, a lot of companies sell non-organic hemp using words like ‘sustainably-farmed’ or ‘pesticide-free’.  Beware of this misleading advertising as conventionally farmed hemp is heavily reliant on chemical fertilizers like anhydrous ammonia and nitrate pellets.  These toxic fertilizers leach nitrates into our water table and are a major source of the greenhouse gas called nitrous oxide.   Organic hemp uses natural cover crops and compost as safe, non-toxic fertilizers.