Thousands of reasons to consider industrial hemp

By Colin Leslie Beadon  
Source: barbadosadvocate.com

In the Barbados Advocate on Saturday February 25, 2012 the front page headline read: “Take More Risks”.

That headline says it all. The island of Barbados is an advanced one in so many ways, yet there are areas where it falters far behind.

I’ll take on two right here and now:

One: In no other island in the West Indies is there such a lack of fruit trees. It is as though people hate the idea of growing a fruit tree in Barbados. Go into any garden in other islands and you’ll find mango and avocado, oranges, limes, breadfruit, bananas, and usually at least one or two coconuts trees. The coconut trees can be of the dwarf kind, just a few feet tall, but bearing large nuts. In Brunei, I saw coconut trees in gardens about four feet high, with huge nuts touching the ground, so no winds could blow that down and destroy a home.  

Two: We are being stupid and backward about the 50 000 highly important and healthful uses of industrial hemp. Hemp-made products are used in just about everything you can think of, including human and animal foods, and fuels.  On top of that, we could get three crops a year, maybe four, instead of just one of sugar. Hemp-made shoes, clothes, and handbags last much, much longer than those made of other products. Hemp is a much stronger, longer lasting product than cotton and it can be mixed with cotton or anything else as a composite. 

The British are making car exteriors out of hemp. It withstands impact better than metal, and gives to rebound. Inside the car, the seat coverings are also made of hemp. Hemp as an additive is used in the construction of bricks because it is a better insulation than anything else, and by cost much cheaper also. In addition, it is a natural product and its growing enhances the earth and the garden in that insects stay away from it. Hemp is grown amongst other vegetable for that same reason. 

Ok, so now I have written on hemp again, I hope some bright professor spark in a local University will suddenly step forward and claim the idea for the introduction of hemp and its 50 000 uses in this island; it would put many people to work – both in its cultivation and uses in manufacturing. 


Hemp-made ethanol is also a serious by-product, as is roofing.

You don’t believe this? Go look up hemp and its uses on Google or where ever you want. There are a number of sites dealing with hemp. We want to take some more risks?  Do we? Really?  

No we don’t! We have those old ideas and we’ll live with them for the rest of our lives, probably, and we’ll import hemp-made products in growing numbers, and we’ll never even know so much of what we are buying from China, India, England, Australia, Canada, (and even the USA, slowly) is made of hemp. And we will deserve what we get as we see our foreign exchange leaving us, and our people out of work.   
   
Colin Leslie Beadon