The use of hemp dates back to more than 10,000 years ago, and it has been an integral resource in many cultures. It is one of the fastest growing plants on Earth and has been used to manufacture a wide range of products. From paper and ropes to biodegradable plastics and paint, hemp has been used for a variety of purposes. It can even be used to extract large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Hemp is also being used to create healthier versions of sausages and sanitary napkins. Moreover, hemp has the potential to become an important source of ethanol fuel. Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of Cannabis sativa cultivars that are cultivated specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It was one of the first plants to be spun into usable fiber 50,000 years ago.
For example, Gilbert Jenkins has partnered with the New York Institute of Fashion Technology to make hemp jeans. With focused and sustained research and development, hemp could generate dramatic positive ecological and economic benefits. Bioremediation describes the microorganisms that live in hemp that break down oil by feeding on it, metabolizing it and releasing it back into water or soil without toxins. Popular among vegetarians and athletes, hemp seeds are often compared to flax and chia seeds as superfoods.
Hemp paper will last hundreds of years without degrading, can be recycled many more times than tree-based paper, and requires fewer toxic chemicals in the manufacturing process than paper made from trees. However, since the early 1990s, many countries have allowed hemp planting and production on a commercial scale. Most manufacturers of hemp products are forced to import hemp seeds, oil and fiber from producers in Canada, Europe and China because the law prohibits U. S. farmers from growing this sustainable, low-input crop. Fried, a former lobbyist for the marijuana industry, says hemp has a lot of uses and will replace some common materials.
In the cultivation of this plant, it is particularly necessary for the same terrain to grow both male and female, or what is sometimes referred to as simple hemp. Forbes recently reported that more than 25,000 hemp products are currently being manufactured. With its numerous uses, perhaps no other plant on the planet comes close to the number of uses that hemp has.
