Manitoba firm says plant a vital part of 'right-fat' diet

By Doug Lunney
Source: winnipegsun.com


Mike Fata, CEO of Manitoba Harvest, displays some of his hemp 
foods in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

t was 20 years ago when Mike Fata's desire to find a healthier lifestyle planted the seed that led him to co-found what has become the world's largest hemp food manufacturer.

"I was uneducated about health, fell prey to the fast food movement, and found myself weighing 300 pounds when I was 18," Fata recalled Wednesday.

Fata's brother helped him lose weight by getting him into a gym, but his diet still needed work.

"I learned the hard way about fatty acids," said Fata, who tried to cut fats from his diet. "I lost weight, but my health really turned negative from cutting key nutrients out of my diet."

Then Fata discovered the benefits of hemp foods.

"Hemp is not only a great protein source, but one of the richest sources of omegas or essential fatty acids," he said. "I fell in love with it."

Fata did some research on the importance of essential fats and sensed "the no-fat diet" trend was about to change to the "right-fat diet."

Fortunately, hemp became legal to produce in Canada in the 1990s. Unlike Europe, hemp was outlawed in Canada from the 1930s to the 1990s, and remains outlawed in the U.S. because it was confused with other kinds of cannabis.

Fata joined forces with friends Martin Moravcik and Alex Chwaiewski to co-found the hemp-producing company Manitoba Harvest.

"We started out as the first in North America in 1998, but even before that Martin, myself and Alex were working on research and development," Fata said. "We had an upper hand being the first to market with more knowledge than anyone else would possess and over the last 16 years we've just continued to build all aspects of the business."

With 115 employees, Manitoba Harvest has doubled its workforce in the last three years. The business has three parts -- contracts with more than 100 farmers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, a 35,000-square-foot facility on Eagle Drive that packages products, and a sales and marketing team that works with about 7,000 retail partners who sell the products throughout North America. Fata estimates that last figure will soon grow to 10,000.

There are several varieties of hemp, which grow better in certain regions, Fata said.

Manitoba Harvest does online sales (manitobaharvest.com has a store locator), but most products are purchased through retailers such as Loblaws, Safeway, Costco, Vita Health, London Drugs or Kroger in the U.S.

The company features several "hemp-fuelled athletes" on its website, including Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara, who visited the plant two years ago with teammates while here to play the Jets.

"They like the hemp foods because of the good protein and the healthy fats," Fata said.

Hemp hearts are the company's flagship product along with a range of protein powders, which are commonly used in shakes, smoothies, yogurts and cereals, he said.

"We also cold press hemp-seed oil and make a non-dairy hemp milk," Fata said. "We are coming out with more ready-to-eat products ... healthy snacks and some bars that make it easier to get hemp food nutrition into their diet."

Fata proudly noted Manitoba Harvest has achieved several certifications by meeting environmental, food safety and quality standards. Despite the growing demand, there are still many who confuse the plant with marijuana and believe you can get high from eating the product, Fata said.

"Most Canadians still don't know about hemp food products," he said. "Our job to educate people of the benefits of hemp food products is nowhere near complete."