There's so much to love about hemp...
We talk about the power of hemp as it relates to CBD all the time around here, but did you know there's so much more to love about this plant? Check out this list for a few fun facts and historical tidbits about our farm's favorite crop.
1. Hemp protects soil
Hemp grows like... a weed (we couldn’t help ourselves!). Its fast growth and long, probing roots help to hold the soil in place like a netting, reducing erosion and giving a home to billions of beneficial bacteria and fungi. Those long roots also aerate the soil which allows more tender, fragile plants to grow in that same area. Not only does hemp take average soil and make it amazing....
2. Hemp can help clean contaminated soil
Researchers are currently evaluating hemp for its ability to pull up harmful heavy metals that have deposited in soils after decades of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and more. This is also why it’s so important for hemp used in products like our CBD oils to be grown organically, otherwise you end up with a contaminated end-product. Hemp seems to make everything better! It’s almost like everyone should be growing it, right? Well, we aren’t the only ones thinking that because...
3. U.S. Farmers were once required to grow hemp
At times throughout our country’s history, it was illegal for farmers not to grow hemp! This is because hemp was used to make so much of what early Americans needed to survive and thrive like fabric, sails, canvas, rope, paper, and more. This made for a huge swing when eventually...
4. Growing hemp was criminalized in the US
Under the guise of protecting citizens from “dangerous drugs,” the already restricted hemp plant was officially made illegal with Nixon’s controlled Substances act in 1970. Maybe it’s just us, but it seems kinda bonkers for a country to go from requiring all land-owners to grow a plant to making it completely illegal. It does make sense if you follow the money. On that trail, you’ll see that a number of big business interests lobbied to make the plant illegal because, among other things…
5. Hemp clothing is more durable and cheaper than cotton clothing
Hemp fiber is three times stronger than cotton fiber which makes the garments last longer. Not to mention, 1 acre of hemp produces as much fiber as 2-3 acres of cotton! Now that hemp is legal and being grown again, we envision a day when most of our everyday clothes are made from this wonderful plant. Hemp also makes great, long-lasting paper and is, once again, far more productive per acre than trees grown for the same purpose. Even...
6. The U.S. Constitution was written on hemp paper
The renowned U.S. Constitution that promised life, liberty, and equality to all men, was penned and signed on paper made of hemp. Thomas Jefferson and many other founding members of this country cultivated a hemp crop. That was well-over 200 years ago! But it didn’t start there...
7. Hemp has been around for at least 10,000 years
The use of hemp has been traced back to ancient China, Egypt, Russia, Greece, and Italy. Archaeologists believe it was grown for many reasons including clothing and paper, which we’ve already discussed. What surprises some, is that it was also grown for food. You wouldn’t want to be chewing on those beefy hemp stalks that are used in textile and pulp manufacturing (unless you reeeaaally needed the fiber) but...
8. You can eat the seeds!
Hemp seeds are extremely nutritious and contain high levels of minerals, omega fatty acids, and vitamins A, B, D, and E. We like our friends’ products at Eaton Hemp - they’re as delicious as they are nutritious! All of these wonderful hemp products returning to the market are all thanks to when…
9. Things finally started to open back up in 2014
This is when President Obama signed the 2014 Farm Bill, which allowed research institutions to start piloting hemp farming, processing, and marketing. How to grow and use the plant was still a big unknown for many looking to bring back the technologies of this ancient plant. It was a challenging, but solid, start to this now blossoming industry. Then...
10. Everything changed in 2018
An amendment to the farm bill legalized hemp in the U.S. under President Trump. This amendment removed the hemp plant, along with any of its seeds and derivatives, from the Controlled Substances Act. (This is right around the time that Allan and Karli got involved!)
It’s a bright future for hemp, Head & Heal, and everyone who chooses to incorporate this amazing plant back into their daily lives. The rest, as they say, is history.
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