All You Need to Know About Hemp Seeds

Source: tv3.ie




Many people are constantly on the lookout for meat-free ways to up their protein intake. If you're one of them, hemp seeds could be the answer you've been searching for.

Don't be put off by the fact that hemp seeds come from the same plant as the drug cannabis - they are perfectly legal and you can purchase them from stores including Whole Foods and Holland & Barrett.

One of the main reasons they're so popular is their aforementioned high protein content. Hemp seeds contain 20 amino acids, including ten of the essential ones our bodies can't produce. An ounce of hemp contains about ten grams of protein. The protein and fibre of hemp seeds combine, which prevents spikes in blood sugar and should stave off hunger pangs.

Because hemp keeps you fuller for longer, it's a great tip for people on a diet. If you combine the seeds with a balanced diet and regular exercise, it shouldn't be long before you see some progress.

They also boast omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for cardiovascular health, low blood pressure and could even prevent Alzheimer's. It's actually fairly hard to find omega-3 in plants, so hemp seeds are pretty special!

Omega-6 is also found in hemp seeds and has some seriously amazing beauty benefits. It stimulates skin and hair growth, regulates the metabolism and boosts brain function.

If you're new to hemp seeds, we also have some easy ways you can add them to your diet. One of the most popular is to sprinkle them on cereal in the mornings, making for a healthy and nutritious breakfast.

If you'd rather incorporate the seeds into your lunch, try them on salads or swap to hemp oil as a dressing.

Many people also love adding hemp seed to their smoothies, blitzing them with ingredients like fruit, veg and Greek yoghurt. And speaking of yoghurt, you could sprinkle them on one of those for a healthy snack, too.

Henry Ford Designed a Car made of Hemp: More Fuel Efficient, More Durable: It Disappeared

By Joshua De Leon
Source: ringoffireradio.com

Henry Ford was an innovator ahead of his time. By 1941, Ford had been working on ways to invent more fuel efficient and durable vehicles that could operate with alternative fuel sources. He came up with a hemp-bodied prototype automobile, which he foresaw running on alcohol generated from agricultural products such as Hemp.

Despite the breakthrough, hemp production was inhibited by draconian marijuana laws designed to protect fossil fuels and the production of standard textiles and materials. Unfortunately, mass production of the hemp car never happened.

In this video, the car is beaten with a hammer while no heavy damage is inflicted upon the car. Watch.

East Yorkshire farmer grows his own home

By Charlotte Richardson
Source: yorkshirepost.co.uk

Nick Voase outside the family s eco-hemp house near Brandesburton. It was finished in April this year.

BUILDING A farmhouse is nothing new, but farmer Nick Voase has raised the bar, by building his new home out of hemp grown entirely on his own farm.

Nick, who lives in Baswick, near Brandesburton started growing hemp in 2002 as an alternative crop and a combination of the severe East Yorkshire floods in 2007 and changing family circumstances led to his visionary building project.

Explaining how it began, Nick said: “We were looking for a break crop and had tried borage and lupins, among other things, then we tried hemp, and it just fitted, growing it bi-annually with wheat.”

After obtaining the necessary licences from the police; as hemp is part of the cannabis family, Nick began growing his unusual crop. When the farm was hit by the 2007 floods, Nick stopped growing potatoes and instead grew more hemp, increasing from 25 acres to 300 acres.

To make the switch pay, he built a piece of machinery which could cut and chop hemp into five shorter sections for harvesting. The hemp was then sent off to a firm in Essex where it was processed.

But in 2009 the family reached a turning point when all the hemp crop they had stored in a shed set on fire.

Nick said: “It was a difficult time. We had to decide to take the insurance money and do something else, or carry on with the hemp and do it on a greater scale.”

He decided to purchase a processing unit which enables him to process hemp on site.

“The machine takes the hemp straw and separates the fibre on the outside from the ‘shiv’ or woody core. The fibres mainly go towards making loft insulation and mattresses, and the woody core is used for animal bedding and briquettes for wood-burning stoves.”

But it was the use of hemp as a building material that Nick was keen to investigate.

“We knew that hemp can be mixed with a lime mortar to build properties which are really well insulated and breathable.”

When Nick’s parents wanted to convert a barn into a single storey home, Nick had the perfect opportunity to use hemp as a building product.

“Neither me nor Mike Turner, the local builder who worked with me, had built with it before, so we learnt as much as we could about the product before we started and we were really pleased with how it turned out.”

The project saw Nick, his wife Helen and three sons inherit the family farmhouse.

“Originally it’d been two cottages and over the years it had been patched up and added to and so needed improvement. We called in an architect and the most viable option seemed to be to pull it down and re-build an eco-hemp house.”

The house was demolished in 2013 and the five bedroom new build was finished in April this year.

“This was a much larger project and it was a learning curve, getting the mix of hemp and lime binder right.”

The house has an air filtration and heat recovery system, and a biomass boiler which heats the water and the underfloor heating.

“Because the hemp walls keep the humidity constant, it’s a better environment to live in; we also don’t need a plastic membrane in the walls. Hemp’s an excellent insulator and the walls keep the house cool in summer and warm in winter, so we don’t need any fires, log burners or even radiators.”

Nick has even built his own walk-in fridge out of hemp and installed air conditioning to keep it cool. Warm air from the fridge outflows into the utility room and is re-used to dry clothes.

Architect Dave Ettridge said: “This house is true high-quality, low-carbon living. The hemp acts as a carbon sink as it locks the carbon up for the life of the dwelling. This is hugely different to brick and block that are very carbon intensive.”

CSU Scientists Researching Industrial Hemp Cultivation

Source: pagosadailypost.com

Colorado State University has begun a research project looking at hemp, a plant with practical uses such as the creation of textiles, soaps and oils that can also be used in the production of a range of pharmaceutical compounds.

Because industrial hemp is the same species of plant as marijuana, CSU is navigating a complex legal landscape that has expanded to allow universities to conduct research on industrial hemp.

Industrial hemp cultivation is returning to the American agricultural landscape.

The research Colorado State University has begun will identify best varieties and develop innovative research techniques that can be used under Colorado conditions to ensure industrial hemp is cultivated efficiently and profitably.

Industrial hemp is botanically the same as marijuana, but is different in that it contains less than 0.3 percent THC – the psychoactive compound found in marijuana. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Bill makes provisions for CSU to conduct research on industrial hemp. Researchers in the CSU College of Agricultural Sciences work with the Colorado Department of Agriculture to manage these crops, in part because the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration considers industrial hemp to be the same as marijuana and classifies it as a Schedule 1 narcotic crop.

“While this emerging industry faces a number of unique challenges, such as its legal landscape on a federal level, Colorado’s hemp farmers are becoming national leaders in their industry,” said Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Don Brown. “Our registrants are passionate and dynamic entrepreneurs who are developing uses that weren’t imagined just a few years ago. It will be exciting to see how this industry develops in the years to come.”

Although industrial hemp is grown in a manner similar to irrigated corn, Colorado’s arid climate and short growing season present challenges for some producers. CSU researchers believe that the greatest economic opportunity for industrial hemp may be in its future use in pharmaceutical compounds, and less for widespread production as a biomass crop for producing fibers.

Hemp variety trials are now underway at CSU research centers in northern Colorado and the southwest region of the state. These trials will begin to identify how different fiber, seed and oil varieties perform under different Colorado climatic and growing conditions, and are being done in cooperation with researchers in the European Union who have similar interests.

Because the federal government has allowed for industrial hemp research to take place at universities throughout the United States, CSU is taking a leading role as the state’s land-grant institution in exploring how hemp may become an important crop in Colorado.

Hemp Industries Association 22nd annual conference

Source: wbko.com



LEXINGTON, Ky. (WBKO) -- Hemp Industries Association (HIA), a non-profit trade association consisting of hundreds of hemp businesses and farmers, will host its annual conference Sunday, September 27 through Tuesday September 29, at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Lexington, KY.

The three-day conference will feature keynote speaker James Comer, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner, and expert speakers David Mitlin, Professor at Clarkson University, David Williams, Agronomist at University of Kentucky, Mike Fata, CEO of Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods, Ethan Russo, MD, Medical Director at Phytecs, John Roulac, CEO of Nutiva, plus many others.

Focusing on the expansion of the hemp industry and market in North America, the conference will also feature hemp exhibits, networkingopportunities, and a hemp farm tour.

Held for the first time in Kentucky, the 22nd annual conference occurs at a bright moment in hemp history, as hemp is cultivated in numerous research projects and farms throughout the state. Exceeding $620 million in retail sales, according to SPINS data and HIA estimates, hemp products are demonstrating significant market growth; with 21.2% year over year growth for the category of hemp foods and body care products alone.

Currently, 26 states have defined industrial hemp as distinct from ‘marijuana’ and have removed barriers to its production. Since its introduction in January of 2015, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, S. 134, has garnered 9 co-sponsors, including Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Rand Paul (R-KY).

For more information about the conference, including the full list of speakers and activities, please visit the HIA website: http://www.thehia.org/2015-HIA-conference-lexington-ky.html

Bill to legalise industrial hemp (in Cyprus) expected to have cabinet approval

By Evie Andreou
Source: cyprus-mail.com

AFTER much controversy and several years in the making, a bill to legalise the cultivation of industrial hemp is ready and is expected to be approved by the cabinet as soon as next week, agriculture ministry officials said yesterday.

The bill to alter existing legislation was deemed necessary, the ministry said, as it was an EU obligation. EU legislation allows the cultivation of hemp, and offers subsidies. While cannabis is technically illegal, the state is still forced to subsidise it since EU law overrides national law. Hemp is officially included in the Agricultural Payments Organisation’s (KOAP) list of subsidised products, with a €42-per-donum subsidy.

To avoid being used as a tool for illegal activities, the bill provides for the cultivation of industrial cannabis varieties that contain less than 0.2 per cent of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive element in cannabis.

But legalisation of hemp does not mean that anyone can plant it in their back yards. The bill provides that hemp farmers or the supplier will have to inform the government of their intention to import seeds and give information on their origin. They must also provide plant samples for lab tests, to prove that the variation planted contains less than 0.2 per cent THC.

There are also restrictions on the size of the land plot that is to be cultivated with hemp, since the bill stipulates that it should not be smaller than the size announced by the competent authority. This means that a handful of plants planted by individuals in small patches of land will still be illegal.

“People will need to submit relevant applications and receive permission to be considered as legal hemp producers. It would not be cost efficient to keep these plants in your back yard, since you would have to go through so many checks. All costs will fall on the applicants,” a ministry official said.

Despite that last year the first hemp harvest took place in Nicosia, after some 80 years since it became illegal on the island, the gap in legislation caused trouble to some would-be hemp farmers in Avgorou in May. They, and the person who provided them with the seeds were arrested and their plants, some 1,600 of them, were destroyed by the drug squad YKAN.

The farmers threatened to sue the government if their names were not cleared. They said they had a purchase certificate for the seeds, claiming that they were indeed hemp, and they also had a bill from KOAP for a lab analysis on the seeds.

YKAN had said that they were only doing their job since cannabis cultivation is illegal under Cyprus law and that the claims would be looked into. The case file would be sent to the legal service, YKAN had said, and it was up to them to decide. They added that the person who provided the seeds was arrested because it was considered a crime punishable by up to seven years in jail.

Following approval by the cabinet, the bill will be sent to the House agriculture committee for discussion and then it will be tabled to the plenum for a vote.

Hemp could become a source of income for producers, since it can be used to make bricks, textiles, paper, fuel, and food. As Cyprus lacks the infrastructure to process the crops, initially producers will have to export their crop.

The Green Party welcomed the completion of the bill and expressed hope that the legislature’s vote would not take long.

“The Green Party will continue its efforts to provide essential support to farmers who wish to cultivate hemp, to access European grants etc. But organisation is also needed to promote hemp in other countries where it can be processed,” it said.

The next goal, they said, was the legalisation of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

New Schools, Less Crime: Colorado Sees Benefits Of Marijuana Legalization

Marijuana sales in Colorado continue to climb while crime statistics suggest the state is becoming safer than ever.

By Kit O'Connell

Source: mintpressnews.com

Matthew Huron examining a marijuana plant in his grow house. (Ed Andriesk/APi)

DENVER — Colorado’s successful experiment in marijuana legalization is bringing in millions of dollars of revenue per month while simultaneously benefiting schools and contributing to a drop in crime rates.

Colorado reached over $50 million dollars in recreational cannabis sales in June, breaking the state’s previous record, according to Ricardo Baca, a staff writer for Denver Post’s The Cannabist. In addition, medical sales reached $25 million.

Based on the state’s various taxes on marijuana sales, Baca reports that the state has earned over $60 million dollars in marijuana tax revenue so far this year.

Along with legalization, Colorado voters approved a 15 percent excise tax on wholesale marijuana sales that is only to be used for school construction. According to another recent report from Baca, Colorado schools have earned $13.6 million in just the first five months of 2015, a sharp increase over 2014, when the tax generated a total of $13.3 million for the whole year. Putting that figure in perspective, Baca quoted a local Colorado school superintendent, who said that $40 million would fund the construction of “two well-equipped elementary schools, or one well-equipped middle school with an athletic field.”

Tax revenues for Colorado schools and infrastructure are not the only benefit of legalization for the state. Astudy released in January by the Drug Policy Alliance showed that legalization has led to a decrease in crime. In January, Laura McCauley, a staff writer for Common Dreams, summarized the study’s findings:

“According to statistics compiled by the DPA, in the first 11 months of 2014, the rate of violent crime fell 2.2 percent compared with the same period in 2013. In the same time frame, burglaries in Colorado’s capital, Denver, decreased by 9.5 percent and overall property crime decreased by 8.9 percent.

Further, arrests for marijuana possession have continually dropped since 2010 and are now down roughly 84 percent.”