Source: thtc.co.uk
The unknown treasure that is Hemp
Of course being called The Hemp Trading Company means we are devoted to using Hemp as our fabric of choice, here's why.
Farming
It's possible to grow hemp organically on most of the world's farmland. There are many varieties that can be selected for their various characteristics - high oil content or fibres of particular lengths - with seed banks holding over 100 strains of industrial hemp.
A rapidly growing plant, hemp chokes out other weeds, has a strong resistance to most pests and so can be grown with other legume crops, maturing in just 8-12 weeks fulfilling its nitrogen requirements.
With a long tap root able to reach water, bind and aerate the soil where other plants can't, hemp crops can be used to reclaim land in areas prone to drought ( e.g. African Sahara) or flooding.
Once harvested the crop has a high yield of cellulose, edible proteins, oils and fibres with over 50,000 different product applications across a whole array of industries.
A long and very strong 'bast' fibre, hemp fibre has been used for thousands of years to manufacture clothing, twines, ropes and cordage, and is an excellent complement to fibres such as flax, silk, nettle and cotton in fabric blends. It can be used to produce many weights and blends of fabrics for applications, from the heaviest sofa cover to the finest ball-gown. Hemp fabric also has natural anti-mildew, UV protection and thermodynamic and hypoallergenic properties, making it desirable for use in many products. The fibre also has applications for 'fibreglass' and in paper-making.
Cellulose
As a bio-fuel, as a source of paper pulp, in chipboard and MDF for use in construction, as an eco-cement, as insulation, for animal bedding and furniture stuffing, as fuel-logs. Hemp cellulose has a myriad of uses.
Seed
An incredibly nutritious protein source, an excellent seed oil for skin and digestion, cosmetics, paints, varnishes, binders, burning oils, animal feed and more.
A crop for the future?
With modern farming in big trouble, farmers are being paid not to cultivate their land, and food mountains are burnt in developed countries, while billions of people go hungry in developing countries. Hemp represents a lifeline crop for rural and hunger-prone areas, of particular value for its versatility and organic nature. A famine-stricken village could clothe, house and feed themselves from one hemp field!
In the developed world, we still rely on machinery from the turn of the century to harvest and process emerging hemp crops. Gradually, new processing machinery is being designed and implemented, and present machinery converted so that the new hemp crops are just as easy to process as cotton and hay.
As well as being the crop for the future Hemp was actually a crop for the past too. The hemp plant has been used for thousands of years as a source of high quality, raw fibre for use in making paper. In China, from about AD150, historical evidence suggests hemp plants' involvement with the paper industry
Up to 90% of the worlds' paper manufactured before 1883 was made from cannabis hemp, and some of the most historically important documents were written on hemp including the Gutenberg Bible and the first two drafts of the US Declaration of Independence.
Not only does hemp make strong, light and bio-degradable plastic, it was also used in the creation of Henry Ford's 1941 'Plastic Car.'
Hemp produces 4 times the raw material than trees for paper making. Hemp can be planted between 1-3 times a season, depending on location and can be recycled up to 10 times, compared to 3 or 4 for wood pulp paper. The same fibre products that the hemp harvest produces also provides raw-materials for a host of other sustainable products.
Check out the links page to find out more.
The HempNut Story
We think HempNut brand shelled hempseed is the most important development to ever happen to hempseed! Most people agree that the outer shell is not very tasty, more for the birds than humans perhaps. HempNut can be used in literally any recipe, it's that versatile. It contains about 40% more nutrition than whole hempseed. In fact, it's one of the most nutritious plant foods available, with 36% Essential Fatty Acids (the "good" fat), and 31% high-quality protein (second only to soybean), and very high in vitamins! Machines and a special process are used to gently remove the shell, resulting in the first hempseed clean enough for humans. It needn't be cooked for it to be sterilised, unlike whole hempseed, because shelling naturally renders the seed unable to grow (in accordance with US law).
HempNut is the best source of the essential fatty acids Omega-3 Linolenic Acid and Omega-6 Linoleic Acid, as well as Gamma-Linoleic Acid. While most foods have little if any, HempNut is over36% essential fatty acids, and in "Nature's perfect balance" (1:3). It contains 31% complete and highly-digestible protein (second only to soybean), and is high in vitamins and minerals. And when a t the natural food store, ask for our fine HempNut products: Peanut Butter, Lip Balm, Oil, Cheese, Veggie Burger, Chocolate, Energy Bars, and more!
Hemp Food link here
Watch this segment about Hemp food products on the American news series: The Today Show.
Watch this segment about Hemp food products on the American news series: The Today Show.
Why Hemp is not in widespread use
Concurrent histories of the diesel engine and biofuels are necessary to understand the foundation for today's perception of biofuels, and in particular biodiesel.
History of biofuel is more political and economical than technological. The process for making fuel from biomass feedstock used in the 1800's is basically the same one used today. It was the influences of the industrial magnates during the 1920's and 1930's on both the politics and economics of that era which has clouded our understanding of biofuels today.
Biofuel can be defined as a solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from biomass. Hemp falls under the category of biomass because it is a living and recently dead biological material which can be used as fuel or for industrial production. Using Hemp biomass to produce fuel is currently the most under-exploited use of hemp due to its high cost and limited technology available. However, it is a proven fact that hemp stalk can be used to produce energy through a process of "chemurgy," a cross between chemicals and energy. The hemp stalk can be converted to a charcoal-like substance through a process called pyrolysis, and used for power generation and to produce industrial feed stocks.
Almost any biomass material can be converted to create methanol or ethanol, and these fuels burn cleanly with less carbon monoxide and higher octane. In fact, the diesel engine was invented to burn fuel from agricultural waste yet ended up burning unrefined petroleum. Hempseed oil can also be refined to produce a type of hemp biofuel.
Deforestation is considered by many to be one of the most serious and dangerous practices in the world today. We are destroying the very source of our oxygen and bio-diversity to pump out, amongst other things, daily newspapers which continue to lie to the public about many things, from world wars, to the benefits of using hemp as a sustainable crop.
If today is a typical day on planet Earth, 116 square miles of rainforest will be lost (about an acre a second) and we will lose another 72 square miles to encroaching deserts, as a result of human mismanagement and overpopulation.
Today the human population will increase by 250,000.
We will also add 2,700 tons of chlorofluorocarbons to the atmosphere and 15 million tons of carbon, making the Earth hotter, its waters more acidic, and the fabric of life more threadbare.
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