hemp_facts a http://www.hempfarm.org/Papers/Hemp_Facts.html HEMP FACTS Compiled by Ezra Soiferman Ezra@pressuredrop.com Sept. 2005 Introduction: -Hemp is an annual, herbaceous, long fibre plant similar to flax, jute and ramie. [i] -Hemp is a distinct variety of the plant species cannabis sativa L. [ii] -Although hemp and marijuana are from the cannabis species, hemp contains virtually no THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.) If you smoke hemp you will get a headache. You will not get high. Its THC level is less than 1%, whereas marijuana contains between 5 - 15% THC.[iii] -Hemp is among the oldest industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginnings of pottery. [iv] -The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relic of human industry is a piece of Mesopotamian hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 BC.[v] -For more than a century, hemp was legal tender to pay American taxes.[vi] -Over 600,000 acres of hemp grow worldwide today.[vii] Over 8,500 acres were grown in Canada in 2004.[viii] -The 2002 figures for global hemp sales were US$250 million. US$150 million in the United States alone.[ix] Legality: -For the first 162 years of America's existence, marijuana was totally legal and hemp was a common crop. But during the 1930s, the U.S. government and the media began spreading outrageous lies about marijuana, which led to its prohibition. ("Marijuana: The devil's weed with roots in hell", "Marijuana makes fiends of boys in 30 days", “Reefer Madness”, etc.) It was banned in the USA under the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. In a blatant case of mistaken identity, industrial hemp was banned along with it.[x] -It is said that the motivation for the hemp ban was that new processing technologies were developed that made it a potential competitor with the newly founded synthetic fibre and plastics industries. Hemp's potential for producing paper also posed a threat to the timber and oil industries. Evidence suggests that commercial interests, having much to lose from hemp competition, helped propagate the reefer madness hysteria and used their influence to lobby for Marijuana Prohibition. It is debatable at to whether special interests conspired to destroy the hemp industry via Marijuana Prohibition, but evidence exists to raise the possibility.[xi] -In Canada, parliament passed Bill C-8 in May of 1997, freeing industrial hemp from the drug legislation imposed in 1938 when Canada’s Opium and Narcotics Control Act followed the United States’ lead and banned hemp production. The responsibilities to regulate the “new” crop were given to Health Canada. [xii] (The UK lifted its ban in 1993.[xiii]) -In July 2005, a new bill (H.R. 3037 - The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2005) was introduced to U.S. Congress. If passed by the House and Senate, it would allow states the legal authority to license and regulate hemp cultivation without conflicting with federal law.[xiv] -It is currently illegal to grow industrial hemp for food, oil, paper or fabric in the USA, but it is perfectly legal to export hemp to the U.S. and to process, consume and wear it there. [xv] Diversity: -Over 25,000 different products can be made from hemp in oil, seed or fibre form.[xvi] -Used for thousands of years by a wide variety of cultures, hemp is currently being used worldwide in industries such as fabric, food, bio-diesel fuel, paper, plastics, rope, building material, molded panels, car components, wallpaper, acoustic baffling and barn bedding for farm animals.[xvii] -125 years ago, 70 to 90 percent of all rope, twine, cordage, ship sails, canvas, fibre, cloth, etc., was made out of hemp fibre. It was replaced by Dupont’s newly discovered petrochemical fibre (nylon) beginning in 1937. [xviii] Farming: -The hemp plant is highly resistant to most insect and disease, largely eliminating the need for most (or all) pesticides and herbicides.[xix] -No herbicides have been approved for industrial hemp. Early planting, as soon as the soil is warm enough, is a recommended weed control strategy.[xx] -A normal stand of 200 to 300 plants per square meter shades out weeds, leaving the fields weed-free at harvest and covered in leaves that improve the soil in a self-mulching eco-system.[xxi] -Industrial hemp can be grown on a wide variety of soil types, but tends to grow best on land that produces high yields of corn.[xxii] -Hemp prefers a mild climate, humid atmosphere, and a rainfall of at least 25-30 inches per year. [xxiii] -A hemp field produces a very large bulk of plant material in a short period of time. (Stalks can reach 15 feet tall in 70-90 growing days)[xxiv] [xxv] -Yields can reach between 3 to 7 tons of dry hemp fibre stalk per acre.[xxvi] -HEMP IS THE NUMBER ONE biomass producer on planet earth: 10 tons per acre in approximately four months. It is a woody plant containing 77% cellulose. Wood produces 60% cellulose.[xxvii] -Low abrasion means low impact on farm equipment and workers hands. [xxviii] -Hemp was one of Canada's first agricultural exports when the fibre was sold to Britain and France for use in their navies. It was common practice for tracts of land to be issued to settlers in Canada on the provision that they grow hemp.[xxix] -During World War II the U.S. government relaxed the anti-hemp laws and spurred mid-western farmers to grow over a million acres of the plant for the war effort. “Hemp For Victory” was the name of the informational film made by U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1942.[xxx] Decades later they denied they ever made the film. This was disproven by researchers in 1989 when they found evidence of it at the Library of Congress.[xxxi] -Of all the hemp grown in Canada this year, almost all of it was for seed, oil and construction material. Little went to the fabric industry. Most fabric is imported from China and Europe. [xxxii] Fibres, Fabric & Clothing: -The agriculture world’s longest and most durable natural fibres are hemp’s ‘bast’ fibres, contained in the bark of the plant’s stalk. [xxxiii] -In 1853, the first pair of Levi’s jeans was made. And they were made from of hemp.[xxxiv] -The word canvas (traditionally made from hemp) comes from cannabis (Latin). This word comes from kaneh-bosem, Hebrew for ‘aromatic cane’. [xxxv] -Un-dyed hemp fabric will not rot and won’t fade in sunlight.[xxxvi] [xxxvii] -Hemp is anti-microbial, anti-mildew, naturally UV resistant and readily takes on eco-safe plant-based dyes. [xxxviii] -Frequently blended with cotton, silk, tencel, bamboo, spandex and other fibres to make a wide variety of fabrics with various attractive properties. It is also an efficient insulator keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer.[xxxix] -It is said that a parachute rigging made of hemp saved the life of George Bush Sr. when the young bomber pilot bailed out of his burning plane.[xl] -Hemp softens with each washing, without fibre degradation.[xli] As the saying goes: “Hemp doesn’t wear out, it wears in.”[xlii] Compared to Cotton: -Environmentally, hemp is a safer crop to grow than cotton. Cotton is a soil-damaging crop and needs a great deal of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.[xliii] -Cotton crops in the USA occupy 1% of the country’s farmland but use 50% of all pesticides. [xliv] -1 acre of hemp will produce as much as 2-3 acres of cotton.[xlv] -Hemp is 4 times warmer than cotton, 4 times more water absorbent, has 3 times the tensile strength of cotton. It is also many times more durable and is flame retardant.[xlvi] -Many high fashion clothing manufacturers have produced clothes and footwear made with hemp. Some of these include: Nike, Converse, Armani, Patagonia, Polo Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta and many more.[xlvii] -Hemp fabrics were once far more expensive than cotton and other fabrics due to limited supply, but increased demand and availability in recent years have lowered the price considerably. [xlviii] -Hemp breathes well and wicks moisture away from the body better than cotton. [xlix] -Hemptown (Canada’s largest hemp t-shirt supplier) asserts that selecting their hemp/cotton blended t-shirt over an all-cotton t-shirt saves the environment 744 gallons of water. This company has recently been funded by Canada’s National Research Council to create an enzyme that will make hemp fibres as soft as cotton.[l] Paper: -Hemp paper can be made from both the outer fibres of the hemp stalk (bast fibres) as well as the inner core (or ‘hurd’ fibres) of the stalk.[li] -One acre of hemp (grown in a single season) yields as much paper as up to 4 acres of trees (which take many more years to grow). [lii] -Hemp paper is stronger, acid free, has a longer shelf life and costs less than half as much to process as tree paper. [liii] -Hemp paper can be recycled 10 times whereas wood-based paper can only be recycled twice without losing integrity and requiring additional virgin fibre content.[liv] -China, the world's first paper maker, used hemp to make paper 1,900 years ago. [lv] -Both the Gutenberg Bible (15th C.) and the King James Bible (17th C.) were printed on hemp-based papers. [lvi] -In 1776, Thomas Jefferson, a hemp farmer, wrote the first two drafts of the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper.[lvii] -Since deforestation is a serious environmental concern, hemp can offer a significant contribution to the world’s environment as well as its economy.[lviii] Building Materials and Plastics: -The core of the hemp stalk is used to produce fibreboard, insulation, carpet, fiberglass substitute, cement blocks, concrete, stucco and mortar.[lix] -Hemp oil extracted from hemp seeds is used in the production of plastics, oil paints, varnishes, inks, solvents, lubricants, putty and coatings.[lx] -In an effort to initiate industrial hemp production, a Native farmer named Alex White Plume on his reservation in South Dakota built a house entirely out of what he calls “Hempcrete” bricks. [lxi] -In 1941, Popular Mechanics ran a story featuring a photograph of Henry Ford standing next to the car he “grew from the soil”. The hemp-ethanol fueled and hemp-resin bodied vehicle was a dream of his but many bills proposing a national agricultural based fuel energy program were killed by smear campaigns launched by vested petroleum interests. One claim put forth was that the U.S. government's plans "robbed taxpayers to make farmers rich". [lxii] Environment: -Hemp planting reduces deforestation and improves the soil upon which it is grown.[lxiii] -All products made solely from hemp fibre are biodegradable, compostable and recyclable. As such, they are easy on landfills.[lxiv] -A lightweight product: for greater fuel efficiency in transport, ease of handling, increased payload capacity. -Hemp advocates say it is possible to leave the forests alone and go back to making paper from hemp, but is that really feasible? Technically, yes. Once plant cellulose is turned into pulp, machines cannot tell the difference between it and wood pulp.[lxv] -A worker-friendly, non-toxic material Food and Nutrition: -Of the 3 million plus edible plants that grow on Earth, no other plant source can compare with the nutritional value of hempseeds. [lxvi] -Edible as whole seeds, hulled seed (the hemp ‘nut’), protein powder, or as oil extracted from seeds. -Currently used in salad dressings, protein bars, breads, cakes, soups, beer, butters, shakes, breakfast cereals and many more food products and recipes. -66.3% increase in hemp food sales in U.S. supermarkets in 2004[lxvii] -Hemp plants produce seeds that contain between 25-35% oil by weight. This non-trans-fatty-acid oil is high in a perfect balance of essential fatty acids (EFAs: Omega-3, 6, 9) considered to be necessary to maintain health. [lxviii] Hemp's EFA profile provides a healthy alternative to fish, often high in mercury and other toxins. -Hemp's overall protein content of 35% is comparable to soybeans and is higher than that found in nuts, other seeds, meats, dairy products and fish or poultry. Hemp protein contains all of the essential amino acids in more nutritionally significant amounts and at a ratio closer to "complete" sources of protein (like meat, milk and eggs) than all other seeds except soy. [lxix] -65% of the proteins in hemp are "edestin," which are easily digestible and act as pre-cursors to such vital body components as hormones, hemoglobin, enzymes and antibodies. Hemp's edestin structure is the highest in the plant kingdom, making it more digestible than soy and many other plant foods. [lxx] -Hemp also contains a healthy 35% of dietary fibre, the highest of all commercial flour grains, and it is high in the natural antioxidants Vitamin E, Vitamin C and chlorophyll.[lxxi] -The hardiness and nutritional benefits of hemp could help address many of the world’s starvation problems.[lxxii] Bio-Diesel Fuel: -Industrial hemp would be a viable bio-diesel fuel if hemp were legal to cultivate in the United States. -In 2001, the “Hemp Car”, a converted 1980s diesel Mercedes station wagon drove a 13,000 mile 50 city tour of North America. It was powered by solely by 600 gallons of hemp bio-diesel fuel made from the stalk of the hemp plant.[lxxiii] -The exhaust emissions of carbon monoxide from bio-diesel are 47% lower than carbon monoxide emissions from diesel.[lxxiv] -Bio-diesel reduces the health risks associated with petroleum diesel. Bio-diesel emissions showed decreased levels of PAH and nitrited PAH compounds, which have been, identified as potential cancer causing compounds.[lxxv] -In a period of 28 days, pure bio-diesel degrades 85 to 88 percent in water.[lxxvi] -Any CO2 released from burning hemp as fuel matches the CO2 the plant had beneficially taken from the environment wile growing, creating what is called a closed carbon cycle that could slow down the effects of global warming[lxxvii] Body Care Products: -Thanks to its nourishing oil, hemp is booming in the personal hygiene industry with hemp found in soaps, shampoos, lotions, lip balms, bath oils, personal lubricants and more. -The hemp body care industry had increased sales of 11.9% in 2004[lxxviii] -For more than five years, The Body Shop has offered a full line of hemp-based products. -Cosmetics manufacturers, such as Revlon, include hemp oil in makeup, lotion and shampoo. In Europe they’re using hemp in household cleaners as a natural alternative to harsher chemicals.[lxxix] Hemp Around The World: Chinese: Ma 大麻 Czech: Konopí Dutch: Hennep Esperanto: Kanabo French: Chanvre German: Hanf Greek: κάνναβη Hebrew: Kanabos Italian: canapa Japanese: Taima 麻 Korean: 대마 Russian: пенька Slovak: Konope Spanish: Cáñamo Yiddish: Hanef “Make the most of Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere.” -George Washington, 1794 ENDNOTES: ________________________________________ [i] John W. Roulac, Hemp Horizons: The Comeback of the World’s Most Promising Plant, (Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1997), 12 [ii] ibid., 8 [iii] ibid., 12 [iv] Hemp Industry Association, USA [v] “New Enzyme Technology Changing The Way Textiles And Composites Are Made”, Hemptown, 2005 [vi] “All you need to know about hemp”, Sholeh Patrick, Hagadone News Network, April 16, 2005 [vii] Hempcar.org [viii] “Industrial Hemp Production: History and Current Comeback” Nabi Chaudhary, Senior Economic Analyst, Crops, Alberta Gov’t, 2005 [ix] “Education, Registration, Mobilization”, VoteHemp.com 2005 [x] “Marijuana and Hemp: The Untold Story” Thomas Bouril, 1997 [xi] ibid. [xii] “Commercial Cultivation of Industrial Hemp Approved in Canada”, Health Canada, 1998 [xiii] John W. Roulac, Hemp Horizons: The Comeback of the World’s Most Promising Plant, (Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1997), 21 [xiv] “While You Were Sleeping: The Hemp Bill”, Joel Makower, The Huntington Post, 2005 [xv] Hemp Industry Association, USA [xvi] “Canada’s Industrial Hemp Industry”, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, updated 2005-03-08 [xvii] Various sources. Numerous manufacturers of hemp products can readily be found online. [xviii] The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer, (Ah Ha Publishing, 1993) [xix] John W. Roulac, Hemp Horizons: The Comeback of the World’s Most Promising Plant, (Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1997), 10 [xx] “Growing Industrial Hemp In Ontario”, W.J. Baxter, Gov’t of Ontario, 2000 [xxi] John W. Roulac, Hemp Horizons: The Comeback of the World’s Most Promising Plant, (Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1997), 11 [xxii] “Hemp Defined”, North American Industrial Hemp Council (NAIHC) [xxiii] “Industrial Hemp: A Cropping Guide For Farmers”, Peter Dragla M. Sc., University of Guelph, ON [xxiv] 6-15 feet: “Canada’s Industrial Hemp Industry”, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, updated 2005-03-08 [xxv] 70-90 days: “Industrial Hemp: A Cropping Guide For Farmers”, Peter Dragla M. Sc., University of Guelph, Ontario [xxvi] John W. Roulac, Hemp Horizons: The Comeback of the World’s Most Promising Plant, (Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1997), 10 [xxvii] “Energy Farming In America”, Lynn Osburn [xxviii] “Hemp Blended Into Auto Parts”, Alisa Priddle, Windsor (ON) Star, February 26, 1998 [xxix] “THE HISTORY OF HEMP IN CANADA“ themptations.com [xxx] “Marijuana and Hemp: The Untold Story” Thomas Bouril, 1997 [xxxi] Herer, Jack, “Hemp For Victory - Coverup” - http://www.totse.com/en/drugs/marijuana/hfv_ref.html [xxxii] Gleaned from discussions with various people in the industry. [xxxiii] The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer, (Ah Ha Publishing, 1993), Ch. 1 [xxxiv] “Australian Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Allied Industries”, Board of Studies, New South Wales, Australia, 1999 [xxxv] “MEDICAL MARIJUANA AS MITZVAH A STUDY GUIDE”, thcministry.org [xxxvi] Efforts Clothing Company, Ontario [xxxvii] Interiors & Sources, David Mahood, Aug., 2004. [xxxviii] Efforts Clothing, Ontario; BuyFabricsDirect.com [xxxix] Various sources for blending; “Hemp - not just good for making blue jeans!”, Hempro.com [xl] “Effort to Revive Hemp Industry Encounters Stigma of Marijuana”, David Kelly, LA Times, Nov. 7, 2002 [xli] Warmthreads.com (natural fibre yarns supplier) [xlii] hemptraders.com and numerous other sites on the Web. This seems to be a popular expression in the business. [xliii] “Frequently Asked Questions about Cannabis Hemp”, Brian S. Julin, 1994, reprinted at hempfarm.org [xliv] The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer, (Ah Ha Publishing, 1993) [xlv] “Marijuana and Hemp: The Untold Story” Thomas Bouril, 1997 [xlvi] The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer, (Ah Ha Publishing, 1993) [xlvii] Various sources. [xlviii] Personal buying experience [xlix] Efforts Clothing, Ontario [l] Hemptown.com [li] “Hemp pulp and paper production: Paper from hemp woody core”, Birgitte de Groot, March, 1995 [lii] John W. Roulac, Hemp Horizons: The Comeback of the World’s Most Promising Plant, (Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1997) [liii] “Hemp Through History” ecomall.com, “CROPS: Cotton, Hemp, Flax and Kenaf”, oldgrowthfree.com [liv] “CROPS: Cotton, Hemp, Flax and Kenaf”, oldgrowthfree.com [lv] ibid. [lvi] ibid. [lvii] “The US Hemp Market: An economic examination of the hemp industry.” Richard A. Adams, Baker College Center for Graduate Studies [lviii] Author’s assertion. However, it is understood that the hemp farming acreage, farmer know-how and processing technology still has a ways to go before this will be the case. The paper companies would also have to stop cutting down trees as quickly as they are. More on this topin in: John W. Roulac, Hemp Horizons: The Comeback of the World’s Most Promising Plant, (Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1997) [lix] John W. Roulac, Hemp Horizons: The Comeback of the World’s Most Promising Plant, (Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1997) 15 [lx] ibid. [lxi] “Oglala Sioux Tribe To Plant Industrial Hemp Crops”, Press Release, Tom Cooke, April 29, 2000 [lxii] hempcar.org [lxiii] John W. Roulac, Hemp Horizons: The Comeback of the World’s Most Promising Plant, (Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 1997) 11 [lxiv] ibid. [lxv] “Hemp: Paper: Chinese Background”, http://www.innvista.com/health/hemp/paper.htm [lxvi] The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer, (Ah Ha Publishing, 1993), Chapter 8 [lxvii] SPINS report, 2005, Commissioned by Dr. Bronner Company [lxviii] “What is Hemp?”, Hempline.com [lxix] “Harvest Time For Hemp In Canada”, Press Release, Manitoba Harvest Inc., Aug. 16, 2005 [lxx] The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer, (Ah Ha Publishing, 1993), Chapter 8 [lxxi] “Harvest Time For Hemp In Canada”, Press Release, Manitoba Harvest Inc., Aug. 16, 2005 [lxxii] The Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer, (Ah Ha Publishing, 1993), Chapter 8 [lxxiii] hempcar.org [lxxiv] “BIODIESEL EMISSIONS COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL DIESEL”, Soypower.net [lxxv] ibid. [lxxvi] “Pollution: Petrol Vs. Hemp”, hempcar.org [lxxvii] Chris Conrad, Hemp: Lifeline To The Future (Creative Xpressions: 1994) [lxxviii] SPINS report, 2005, Commissioned by Dr. Bronner Company [lxxix] “All you need to know about hemp”, Sholeh Patrick, Hagadone News Network, April 16, 2005 http://hempfest.org/drupal/?q=node/16 HEMP: A True Gift from God Written by Dr. Heather Anne Harder Hemp has the potential to be the best thing that has happened to American farmers in recent history. If only we can awaken the people to their political power. Hemp has four major uses, food, fiber, fuel and medicine. This one crop can provide the basics of life -- food, shelter, clothing and medicine. Industrial hemp has little in common with its cousin the "marijuana" plant. Hemp plant can be grown in most climates, requires little fertilizer and water and NO pesticides nor herbicides. De-regulating hemp production only makes sense. Both Presidents Washington and Jefferson grew hemp. Americans were legally bound to grow hemp during Colonial times. The Federal government even subsidized hemp during WWII. In 1807 California produced 125,000 pounds of Hemp. 40% came from Santa Barbara. Hemp is among the oldest industries on the planet, going back more than 10,000 years to the beginning of pottery. The oldest relic of human industry is a bit of hemp fabric dating back to approximately 8,000 B.C. Hemp played a major role in the stabilization and economy of our nation for many decades. It wasn't until it became a threat to the natural resource companies back in the thirties did it first experience a ban on its growth. After all, hemp oil is clean, renewable, cheap, and clean while fossil fuels were limited, expensive and dirty. Those who stood to make a fortune in fossil fuels couldn't compete. Also contributing to hemp bashing was William Randolph Hearst. Seems he had a huge financial interest in the timber market. It was his newspapers that spear-headed the hemp bashing in order to influence public opinion. Using the Mexican word for hemp, "marijuana," Hearst turned the public against hemp by playing on their fears and misled the public concerning the nature of hemp/marijuana. Until then people were comfortable with hemp-but this Mexican marijuana was a whole new ball game. Hemp fell out of favor and was thus outlawed because of the combined attacks of a handful of these corporate giants, who put their own self interest above the best interests of this nation. These spin doctors together stifled the hemp production in this country. Now we must re-examine the facts and search our hearts for truth. Then we must take action. Only by working together can we break the corporate/financial hold that still controls Capital Hill. Hemp provides low cost high quality food. Hemp seed can be used for both people and animal food. It is high in many nutrients including protein. Hemp contains all of the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain healthy human life. Hemp can be made into snack bars, cookies, burgers, and porridge or can be roasted and eaten alone. No other single plant source provides a complete protein nutrition in such an easily digestible form, nor has the oils essential to life in as perfect ratio for human health and vitality. Hemp can be brewed with coffee or beer. Currently we import hemp seed from Canada. Now it is time to create domestic hemp seeds for our own use. Hemp is good medicine. Hemp has long been recognized for its medicinal qualities. Hemp relieves side effects or symptoms of glaucoma, AIDS, cancer chemotherapy, migraines, muscular dystrophy, PMS, asthma, and other medical conditions. From 1842 through 1890's a powerful concentrated extract of "marijuana" was the second most prescribed drug in the U.S. In all the medical literature written, none list any of the ill effects claimed by today's drug warriors. Hemp has many non-food uses. Hemp is made into body care products, lamp lighting, printing, lubrications, household stain removers, varnishes, resins, and paint. Back in 1935, approximately 58,000 tons of hemp seed was used just to make non-toxic paint and varnish. When hemp was banned, these safe paints were replaced with toxic petro-chemical versions. In 1930 people did not know about poisoned rivers, or deadly landfills or children dying from chemicals in house paints. Hemp is most known for its fiber. Hemp fiber is extremely versatile. Hemp fiber is known for its strength, length, durability, and its resistance to rot. Hemp fiber is also made into a wood-like composite which is twice as strong as wood. All hemp products are bio-degradable. Hemp reduces our dependency on trees. Hemp is made into paper products as well. Using hemp can eliminate our dependence on trees. One acre of hemp produces the same amount of paper as four acres of trees, four times a year, at 1/4th the cost of wood pulp paper and with 1/5th the pollution. Hemp only takes a 90-100 days to mature for harvest, while most trees take 50 to 500 years. Hemp paper can be recycled ten times, as opposed to three times for most tree-based paper. Hemp paper production can reduce waste-water contamination normally associated in paper production. Hemp production reduces the need for acids, and lends itself to environmentally friendly bleaching instead of harsh chlorine compounds. Hemp paper does not yellow with age and is acid free.1,500 year old hemp paper has been found. Lucky for us our Constitution was written on hemp paper. Hemp crops would save thousands of acres of U.S. forests as well as forests around the world. Hemp is good for the earth. Hemp anchors soil and protects it from run off. It preserves topsoil and subsoil structure as does forests. Hemp cultivation requires few chemicals. Hemp is easy to grow and actually restores and replenishes soil nutrients. Eco-friendly hemp can replace most toxic petro-chemical products. Research is being done to use hemp in manufacturing biodegradable plastic products. These products include plant based cellophane, recycled plastics, resins made from hemp seed oil, to name but a few. The most hazardous toxic waste comes from petro-chemicals and nuclear power. Hemp can safely, cleanly and completely replace them both. Hemp is good for the American farmer and the community job market. The farmer and even the rural community has the most to gain from the restoration of the domestic hemp production. One acre of hemp produces 3-4 tons of biomass every 90-100 days. Because of hemp's bulkiness, local processing plants, weaving accommodations and other facilities are needed. This creates a new job market within the existing farm community. This in turn provides a tax base for these communities so that they no longer have to rely on taxing the farmers' land. The affordability and availability of hemp will create an unprecedented increase in local cottage industries. Everybody wins. Hemp could end our dependency on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels, such as natural gas, oil, and coal, are non renewable resources since they are the by-product of eons of natural decomposition of Earth's ancient biomass. Fossil fuel contains sulfur, which is the source of many of the aggravating environmental pollution problems threatening America. When burned the ancient carbon dioxide trapped in these fossil fuels are released and increase the effects of global warming and the greenhouse effect. On the other hand dried hemp biomass burns with virtually no ash or sulfur. Its growth removes carbon dioxide, which it releases when burned. The amount of carbon dioxide taken from the atmosphere equals the amount released thus it does not contribute to worsening the global warming or greenhouse effect. According to Environmental chemist, Stanley E. Manahan, if we dedicated about 6% of continental U.S. land to hemp biomass cultivation could supply all current demands for oil and gas. This production would not add any net carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Pyrolysis is the process of converting organic biomass into fuel similar to the process currently used to create charcoal. Hemp "charcoal" has the same heating value as coal, with virtually no sulfur to pollute the atmosphere. Hemp yields approximately 10 tons per acre in four months, is drought resistant and produces a heating value of 5,000-8,000 Btu/per pound of dried hemp. Hemp biomass can also be converted to methanol. Some car manufacturers have already indicated a willingness to make cars that would run on methanol fuel. Hemp plants could replace all fossil fuels and their harmful by-products, reducing pollution. Using hemp cultivation for the new "energy farming" would create another cash crop for American farmers. Hemp is both beneficial for the American energy consumer, and good for the atmosphere. Hemp is the only crop capable of making America energy independent. Only politicians and their campaign contributors stand in the way of such radical common sense. (Why do we continue to allow this subversion of our Constitution when their restrictions fly in the face of reason and the best interests of this nation?) Hemp is good for the tax base of county, state and the federal government. A legally regulated hemp crop would yield billions of dollars in tax revenue. A new hemp industry would replace thousands of jobs being lost in the wood pulp industry and in other agricultural & industrial occupations. If hemp were de-regulated and taxed at the same rate as pipe tobacco, over ½ billion dollars could be raised annually in Texas alone. Nationwide hemp tax could fund state programs for universal health care for everyone. If hemp were taxed at the same rate as cigarettes, which pose a much greater health hazard, over a billion dollars could be raised just in Texas. Hemp is good for the national economy. Hemp production proponents claim that hemp could be worth considerably more than $40 billion a year and yield 50,000 safe products. We currently import hemp products from China, Thailand, England, France, Spain, Holland, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Canada, and Australia. Hemp is grown legally in most industrialized countries of the world. What do these countries know that we don't? In 1942, after Japan cut off our imported hemp supply, and our national prohibition of hemp production was in place, we experienced a dangerous shortage. Our legislators waged a national campaign and literally begged and bartered with farmers to once again grow "Hemp for Victory." Farmers and their sons who agreed to grown hemp were given a waiver from serving in the military. We even asked kids in the Kentucky 4-H club to grow at least a half-acre but preferably 2 acres of hemp each. Amazingly, growing hemp was bad, but it became good, but after the war was over it became bad again. Only in Washington could such irrational behavior under mounting evidence be rationalized. We can no longer afford to allow the hemp production to remain a matter of ignorance verses politics. This insane prohibition against one of the world most valuable plants must stop. Even Thomas Jefferson smuggled special high quality fiber strain hemp seeds from France for American use. Jefferson knew, as do many people now living, that hemp has great tensile strength and durability. It is used to produce more than 5,000 textile products ranging from rope to fine lace. The woody "hurds" remaining after the fiber has been removed contains more than seventy-seven percent celloulose, and can be used to produce more than 25,000 products ranging from dynamite to cellophane. Hemp is already a profitable cash crop in several American states-why not let all states have the choice to grow hemp? After all hemp has been around for a long time. If offers little surprise to the American consumer. Humans have safely used hemp for thousands of years, for food, fiber, fuel, food and medicine. It is only our archaic preoccupation with someone's potential use of recreational use of marijuana that keeps us from opening this wondrous crop to all farmers. Some law enforcement officer is afraid someone may grow the wrong kind of hemp rather than industrial hemp. This is ridiculous. In the puritans time it may have been considered prudent to stop someone from getting high-but in this day and age it makes no sense to lock up non-violent hemp offenders. Over 300,000 Americans a year are arrested for marijuana possession, at a cost of $840,000,000 to taxpayers. At a time when prison costs are skyrocketing and we are forced to release violent criminals because of prison cell shortages, we must reconsider our priorities. Once-productive citizens become wards of the state, sometimes along with their families. I have never used drugs of any kind, not even not inhaled, but going to Indiana University during the sixties allowed me to watch my classmates who did. I truly only knew of one other person on campus who chose not to partake. (It is said that if you can remember the sixties you really were a part of them.) Like all college students before and after them, these marijuana smoking students grew up and became productive citizens with few exceptions. I do not support the use of drugs but I strongly oppose our government's refusal to succumb to common sense. They have no Constitutional authority to determine our behavior or to regulate what we can do with our bodies. To add insult to injury they refuse the fundamental rights for farmers to grow such a miraculous plant because it looks like one that may make people high. Instead they sit by (probably counting their campaign contributions) while our land, water, and air are polluted. This nation grows ever more dependent on foreign imports and 500 farmers go under each week! If I were in Congress, I would be deeply concerned about the karmic dept that these collective actions will reap. How long will the American people sit back and take this subjugation from those who are elected to "serve and represent" them? The criminalization of hemp is unconstitutional and its continuation is perpetuated by corrupted influence of campaign contributions. The hemp industry in America could supply jobs, strengthen the economy and help restore a more peaceful and healthy environment. Henry Ford once said, "Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forests and mineral products in the annual growths of fields?" A few states are beginning to grow hemp but without federal deregulation these attempts are minimal at best. We as a nation must ask ourselves some important questions. Whose campaign contributions are preventing our legislators from opening up our farms to grow hemp? Who benefits from these restrictions? Why on earth are we subsidizing tobacco growers while blocking the legal and profitable production of hemp? At a time in history when we can map the genes in a plant, I find it inconceivable that our legislator's can't tell the difference between industrial hemp and the high-inducing "marijuana" plant. In 1937, when hemp was first outlawed, our legislator's stupidity could be rationalized, but not in the year 2000. People must begin to become vocal and outraged against these federal intrusions on our freedoms. Hemp is good for everybody. What the world needs now is love sweet love -- and the decriminalization of industrial hemp! ________________________________________ More Hemp Facts HIA.ORG NORML.ORG http://organicclothing.blogs.com/my_weblog/2005/12/hemp_facts_on_t.html HEMP: FACTS ON THE FIBER Ah, Hemp. Hemp is naturally one of the most ecologically friendly fabrics and also the oldest. The Columbia History of the World states that the oldest relics of human industry are bits of hemp fabric discovered in tombs dating back to approximately 8,000 BC. Hemp fiber is one of the strongest and most durable natural textile fibers. Not only is it strong, but it also holds its shape having one of the lowest percent elongation of any natural fiber. In fact, its combination of ruggedness and comfort were utilized by Levi Strauss as a lightweight duck canvas for the very first pair of jeans made in California. Furthermore hemp has the best ratio of heat capacity of all fibers giving it superior insulation properties. As a fabric, hemp provides all the warmth and softness of other natural textiles but with a superior durability seldom found in other materials. Natural organic hemp fiber ‘breathes’ and is biodegradable. Hemp blended with other fibers easily incorporate the desirable qualities of both textiles. When combined with the natural strength of hemp, the soft elasticity of cotton or the smooth texture of silk create a whole new genre of fashion design. A fiber of a hundred uses besides fabrics, hemp is also used in the production of paper. The oldest piece of paper - over 2000 years old - was discovered in China and is made from hemp. Until 1883, between 75% and 90% of all paper in the world was made with hemp fiber. The Gutenberg bible (15th century), Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (19th century) and just about everything in between was printed on hemp paper. Thomas Jefferson wrote the early drafts of the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper produced in Holland. Jefferson grew hemp on his plantation as an industrial crop, selling the dried stalk to the U.S. Navy as outfitting material. George Washington also grew hemp, harvesting the fibrous seed for a variety of commercial uses including a skin lotion. Other uses include feed for animals and for humans in veggie burgers, salad dressings, and pastas. Hemp seed is nutritious and contains more essential fatty acids than any other source, is second only to soybeans in complete protein (but is more digestible by humans), is high in B-vitamins, and is a good source of dietary fiber. Cosmetics manufacturers include hemp oil in makeup, skin lotions, and shampoo. In Europe, hemp is used in household cleaners as a natural alternative to harsher chemicals. Hemp is a renewable resource which grows more quickly and easily than trees making hemp more cost effective than waiting decades for trees to grow to be used in man-made fiber production such as lyocell and rayon from wood pulps. The bark of the hemp stalk contains bast fibers, which are among the Earth's longest natural soft fibers and are also rich in cellulose. The cellulose and hemi-cellulose in its inner woody core are called hurds. Hemp fiber is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative than cotton fiber. Hemp produces more pulp per acre than timber on a sustainable basis, and can be used for every quality of paper. Hemp paper manufacturing can reduce wastewater contamination. Hemp's low lignin content reduces the need for acids used in pulping, and its creamy color lends itself to environmentally-friendly bleaching instead of harsh chlorine compounds. Less bleaching results in less dioxin and fewer chemical by-products. Hemp fiber paper resists decomposition, and does not yellow with age when an acid-free process is used. Hemp paper more than 1,500 years old has been found. Hemp paper can also be recycled more times than wood-based paper. According to the Department of Energy, hemp is an excellent biomass fuel producer and the hydrocarbons in hemp can be processed into a wide range of biomass energy sources, from fuel pellets to liquid fuels and gas. Development of bio-fuels could significantly reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear power. Hemp can be grown organically easily and hemp is most often grown without herbicides, fungicides or pesticides. Hemp is also a natural weed suppressor due to the fast growth of the plant’s canopy. Eco-friendly hemp can replace most toxic petrochemical products. Research is being done to use hemp in manufacturing biodegradable plastic products: plant-based cellophane, recycled plastic mixed with hemp for injection-molded products, and resins made from the oil are just a few examples. IS HEMP LEGAL? Yes. Industrial hemp products such as clothing and food stuffs are completely legal in the U.S. but the cultivation of industrial hemp is not. Even though hemp was used for centuries in this country to manufacture many personal and industrial products, the U.S. is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not recognize the value of industrial hemp and permit its production. Hemp sold in the United States comes primarily from China, Hungary, Thailand, Romania and Chile. Hemp is also legally cultivated in Australia, England, Canada and New Zealand. Hemp suffers guilt by association because it is related to marijuana even though industrial hemp contains almost no THC, tetrahydrocannabinol – the psychoactive component. While marijuana typically contains between 3 and 20% THC, industrial hemp produces less than 0.3%. Someone smoking socks made from hemp might become nauseous but they would never become high. USES FOR HEMP Hemp can be used to produce a very large variety of products from clothing to paper to building supplies to cars to fuels to food products to much, much more. Some people have called hemp the plant of 30,000 uses because it combines the utility of the soybean, the cotton plant and the Douglas Fir tree into one green package. Hemp is an environmental, renewable, reusable and recyclable resource. • Hemp fabrics. Hemp grows well without herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides. The production of cotton, on the other hand, consumes almost half of the agricultural chemicals used on American crops. Hemp bast fibers are one of the longest natural soft fibers. They are longer, stronger, more absorbent, more mildew-resistant, and more insulative than cotton. This means that hemp will keep you warmer in winter and cooler in summer than cotton. Hemp is more effective at blocking the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. The nature of hemp fibers makes them more absorbent to dyes, which coupled with hemp's ability to better screen out ultraviolet rays, means that hemp material is less prone to fading than cotton fabrics are. Like cotton, hemp can be made into a variety of fabrics, including high quality linen. When blended with materials such as cotton, linen, and silk, hemp provides a sturdier, longer lasting product, while maintaining quality and softness. Hemp is environmentally friendly in many ways. It can displace the use of cotton, which requires massive amounts of chemicals harmful to people and the environment. The production of cotton consumes 50% of the pesticides sprayed in the entire world. Hemp has a deep root system that helps to prevent soil erosion, removes toxins, provides a disease break, and aerates the soil to the benefit of future crops. • Biodegradable industrial products. Because hemp is rich in cellulose, research is being conducted into the use of hemp for the production of biodegradable plastic products. Plant based cellophane, recycled plastic mixed with hemp for injection-molded products, and resins made from hemp oil could one day be manufactured. BMW in an effort to make cars more recyclable, is using hemp materials in their automobiles. Hemp fibers are increasingly being used in industry as a substitute for fiberglass. The advantage of replacing fiberglass with hemp is that hemp is lighter, as strong or stronger, is biodegradable and is cheaper. • Biomass fuels. Hemp is a high yield fiber crop, producing more biomass per acre than most other crops. As a result, the hydrocarbons in hemp could be used as a renewable, low polluting alternative to fossil fuels that is non-polluting to our atmosphere. Hemp is excellent in producing alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. Hemp could be processed into fuel pellets, liquid fuels, and gas, reducing our consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear power. Both the seed and the fiber can be used, though the process varies depending on what you use. • Replacement for wood products. As a replacement for wood products, hemp offers many more environmentally friendly benefits. Hemp yields three to eight tons of fiber per acre, which is four times the yield of the average forest. Unlike wood, hemp is low in lignin, which means that hemp can be pulped using fewer chemicals. Many construction products now made out of wood could be made from hemp. Beams, studs, posts, oriented strand board, and medium density fiberboard made from hemp would be stronger and lighter because of hemp's long fibers. Washington State University produced hemp fiberboard that was found to be twice as strong as wood-based fiberboard. The replacement of wood fiber by hemp-based products can save forests for wildlife habitat, watersheds, recreational areas, oxygen production, and carbon removal, which reduces global warming. • Paper. Hemp paper is of the highest quality, resists decomposition, and does not yellow as it ages when an acid-free process is used. It is for these reasons that hemp paper is used in Europe for bibles. A sample of hemp paper has been found that is more than 1500 years old. Only around 1850 did paper from wood pulp start to replace hemp. Trees were cheap, but now they are rapidly getting depleted. Over a period of 20 years one hectare (ha) of hemp can produce as much paper as four hectares of forest. Japan still imports much of its wood pulp from tropical rainforests which are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Hemp paper can be recycled many more times than wood-based paper. Hemp's natural creamy color eliminates the need for chlorine bleach, which prevents the dumping of extremely toxic dioxin into streams. Instead, hemp can be bleached using gentler hydrogen peroxide. • Body Care Products. Hemp’s antimicrobial properties make it useful for cosmetics and body care products such as shampoos and hair conditioners, lotions, massage oils, salves, soaps, skin crèmes, sunscreen, and lip balm. The oil from hemp seeds has been known to cure dermatitis and other serious skin diseases. • Pet Foods. Hemp provides a healthy protein for pets from dogs and cats to cows and horses to all varieties of birds and chickens. • Detergents. The oil is also being made into a laundry detergent that biodegrades naturally in our water systems. • Art supplies. Hemp is an excellent archival material, for use in paintings and books. Most famous paintings are painted with hemp oil on hemp linen. In ancient China the art of making paper from hemp and mulberry bark was guarded as a state secret, but eventually the knowledge found its way to Japan and also to Europe via the Arabs. In 1390 the first European mill processing hemp rags into paper was founded. In 1455 Gutenberg printed the first printed book in Europe on hemp paper. Washi, a traditional Japanese paper, was made from hemp and mulberry fiber. Nowadays hemp is virtually unavailable for this purpose though a limited supply of hemp paper has been manufactured in Tochigi recently. Hemp and mulberry paper are also used for ritual strips of paper decorations used at Shinto shrines. Japan imported the recipe for paper making from China where most paper still contains hemp today. • Food products. A vast array of food products can be made from hemp seeds. They have exceptional nutritional value and are second only to soybeans as a source of complete vegetable protein. However, they are longer lasting and more digestible than soybeans. The main protein found in hempseed is edestin. Unlike soy, hemp doesn’t have to be cooked or fermented for it to be digestible. VALUE OF HEMP IN FOOD PRODUCTS Hemp seeds contain all eight essential amino acids in the correct proportions required by humans, including Omega-6 (LA- linolenic) and Omega 3 (ALA alpha linolenic). Hemp has a balance of three parts Omega-6 to Omega-3, very close to the body's nutritional requirements. As regulators, the LA and ALA fatty acids provide stability and control the movement of all substances in and out of our bodies' building blocks. Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA), another essential amino acid found in hemp, also stimulates the production of eiconsanoids, which are hormone-type substances. For this reason, many women find hemp oil in their diets helps relieve pre-menstrual syndrome and extreme symptoms of menopause. Some of the other benefits of having all these Essential Fatty Acids in the diet include an increased metabolism, lower cholesterol, better digestion, general vigor, improved skin and hair condition, and a boosted immune system. HEMP FIBERS AND FABRICS The textile material used to make hemp clothing comes from the long strands of bast fiber that make up the stalk of the hemp plant. The long bast fibers are the most desirable for the manufacturing of textile. They can be spun and woven into a fine, linen-like fabric. This fabric can then be used alone, or blended with cotton, linen, silk, or man-made fibers such as lycra and lyocell. Hemp fibers are mildew and microbe resistant, which make them valuable for the production of sails, tarps, awnings, carpets, and clothing. When compared to other bast fibers such as flax, ramie and jute, hemp ranks second in fiber length, ultimate fiber length, aspect ratio, tenacity, tensile strength, and breaking length, and third in cellulose content. Flax is the dominant bast fiber in North America. The following are the primary differences between hemp and flax: • Hemp fibers can reach longer lengths although most processing methods and machinery reduce the lengths of hemp fiber. New processing techniques for hemp may be developed to enable fiber length to become an advantage in certain applications. • Flax is reported to have a "farm odor" when used in making composite board whereas hemp exhibits little odor. • A significant difference is the versatility and characteristics of hemp hurd verses flax shives. The hurd has a longer fiber than shives. This longer fiber is able to add strength to paper and perhaps other types of products. • Hemp is colorless. • Less processing is required to produce long line flax fiber of textile quality. Hemp is larger and the bonds are stronger to separate the fibers. • Flax is thinner than hemp therefore retting is easier. This is an important issue and is a critical factor affecting the quality of fiber. • Flax is preferred to hemp in the textile industry, even in geographic areas where there have no restrictions on growing hemp. Hemp fabric is naturally more suitable to people with chemical sensitivities such as Multiple Chemical Sensitivities than cotton. Hemp grows well without herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides. The production of cotton, on the other hand, consumes almost half of the agricultural chemicals used on American crops. Hemp bast fibers are one of the longest natural soft fibers. They are longer, stronger, more absorbent, more mildew-resistant, and more insulative than cotton. This means that hemp will keep you warmer in winter and cooler in summer than cotton. Hemp is more effective at blocking the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. The nature of hemp fibers makes them more absorbent to dyes, which coupled with hemp's ability to better screen out ultraviolet rays, means that hemp material is less prone to fading than cotton fabrics are. Like cotton, hemp can be made into a variety of fabrics, including high quality linen. When blended with materials such as cotton, linen, and silk, hemp provides a sturdier, longer lasting product, while maintaining quality and softness. FROM FIELD TO FABRIC Hemp has demonstrated that it can have a significantly positive impact upon the environment and the lives of people. Let’s examine how friendly the processes are for converting hemp plants into fabric and garments. The major steps in taking hemp from the field to fabric fashions are: • Growing. Hemp has been described as "Flax with attitude". It's quick growth -- germination to maturity takes between 80-120 days (depending on variety, latitude and field/climate factors) - to reach heights of up to 15' is one of hemp's most impressive features. On a summer day, some claim that you can almost see hemp growing. Unlike cotton, hemp grows in many climate zones. It does especially well in regions where corn is grown. The plant has a short growing season of three to four months. Hemp is grown densely packed with up to 150 plants per square meter so that tall plants containing long primary bast fibers will be produced. By the time they are ready to be harvested, the hemp plants have reached a height of two to four meters. Hemp requires no pesticides to aid in its growth, as it is naturally pest resistant. It has been known to reduce pests in future crops when grown in rotation. Hemp requires no herbicides because it is grown so densely that it smothers out other plants. Hemp also requires little or no fertilizer and it returns 60-70% of the nutrients it takes from the soil. • Weed Control. Herbicides are not needed for growing hemp. Hemp grows very quickly and its dense foliage chokes out most weeds. Field choice, pre-seeding tillage, shallow seeding, and packing after seeding all help to ensure that the hemp stand will emerge quickly and uniformly to gain advantage over the weeds. • Insect Control. Bertha armyworn (Mamestra configurata) may be a significant pest to industrial hemp. Bertha armyworm is a cyclical pest of canola and other crops in Canada. Other pests that have been observed include Lygus plant bugs, cutworms, and grasshoppers. Organic farming methods can be use to control these insect pests. • Disease Control. Diseases that can attack hemp include Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea. Wild mustard and volunteer canola, or adjacent canola stands can be the source of Sclerotinia stem rot infections. Adequate rotation with non-susceptible crops, ensuring seed free of disease organisms, and management of host species like wild mustard and volunteer canola are the key approaches to manage disease risk. The lower plant densities used for seed production should be less risky for sclerotinia than higher density plots for fiber production, but because fiber crops will be cut by mid-flowering the disease may be of less consequence. • Harvesting. For hemp, there are two products to be harvested – the hemp fiber and the hemp seeds. The highest quality fiber is obtained by cutting at early to mid flowering. Mowers with the crimping rolls removed and round-balers may be suitable for low to medium quality end uses. The best approach for harvesting appears to be combining when shelling becomes evident and running the header cutter bar 4 to 5 feet above the ground. Care should be taken to avoid dehulling the seeds in the combine, since dehulled seed is more prone to spoilage or quality loss in storage. After combining, the remaining stalk material can be cut and baled. The mature stalk contains a coarse, low-grade fiber compared with stalk cut at early flowering, but is still marketable. • Drying and Storage. Freshly threshed seeds may have an average moisture content of 16 - 20%. The moisture content at which hemp seeds/grain can be considered "dry" is not known precisely. Seeds should be dried to between 12% and 10%. Air flow through hemp grain should be relatively free. Because the grain may be tough when it is combined, drying should commence as soon as possible after harvest to ensure that quality remains high. Large fans, some with heaters, are used to dry the hemp seed grains. • Grain Cleaning. Ultimately hemp grain seeds need to be cleaned to a rigorous standard for food processing. Conventional seed cleaning apparatus should be able to deal with most foreign material or weed seed problems. If a significant amount of green foreign material is present in the harvested grain, the grain should be pre-cleaned prior to storage to avoid spoilage. Some contracting companies may arrange to do the cleaning themselves. • Grading. Grading standards have not been determined for hemp grain seeds. Buyers will be concerned about foreign material, seeds with adhering bracts, dehulled or otherwise damaged seeds, and off-type crop or weed seeds. MANUFACTURING HEMP FABRIC Because of its unique nature, hemp can easily be grown organically. In creating healthy, organic clothing, growing is only half the picture. Processing fiber into fabric and fabric into garments must also be done using processes that are healthy to the individual, the environment and the society. Hemp fabrics have been woven for at least 10,000 years. The traditional methods have evolved during the centuries but the processes have remained friendly to the environment and to the wearer because they have remained mechanical rather than chemical. Many hemp fabric manufacturers, especially in Eastern European countries such as Romania and Hungary, use the traditional mechanical process that utilize modern machinery specially designed for hemp processing. Modern methods are being developed which rely upon chemical rather than mechanical processes because they are faster, less labor-intensive and therefore less expensive. The hunger for profits undermines the health of people, the ecology and the environment. We will examine the basic processes and how they are performed under modern chemical methods and under traditional organic methods. The basic processes involved in creating hemp fabric for garments are: 1. Separating the fibers; 2. Spinning and weaving these fibers into yarn; 3. Cleaning and softening; 4. Dyeing and finishing; SEPARATING FIBERS. Retting begins the process of separating the long bast fibers from the non-fiber portions of the bark and is completed during the decortication and hackling steps. Chemical Methods. Modern chemical hemp processing makes use of enzymes, chemicals and even ultrasound to rett, or separate, the long bast fibers from the plant for spinning into yarns for fabrics. Some hemp fiber manufacturers in China use modern physical-chemical methods which create a cotton-like short fiber. This creates a short fiber hemp called "cottonized" hemp or "flock" hemp. But the quality of the resulting yarns still needs improvement, especially in the area of long-term wash-and-wear resistance. This may be due to chemical processes removing most of the natural binders lignin and pectin from the hemp fibers. Organic Methods. Traditional hemp processing of plants into yarn for fabrics relies on natural and mechanical processes to separate the long fibers from the plant for spinning into yarns. Two traditional types of retting are field and water retting. Basically, retting is the microbial decay of pectin, the substance that glues the fiber to the woody core of the hemp stem. In traditional field retting, the process is bacterial, aided by dew or rain. Field retting will involve chopping of the stalk into lengths of 12-18 in., turning of the windrow at several-day intervals, and baling when retted and dry. Field retting takes 14 to 21 days to complete depending upon the weather. Ecologically acceptable water retting should be conducted near a sewage treatment plant to treat the waste water. Water retting produces a more uniform and higher quality fiber but the process is time consuming and costly and can pollute the body of water being used for the process. Another process being developed is green retting or mechanical retting. This process uses a machine at the field to mechanically separate the fiber from the hurd. Machinery for this process is currently being designed and tested by various companies throughout the world. In Eastern Europe, the raw fiber is separated by traditional methods of water retting, breaking, scutching, and hackling. This produces the high quality long fiber that is first spun on special long fiber spinning equipment (up to 14 Nm) and then woven. SPINNING & WEAVING. Spinning takes the hemp fibers and spins them together to produce a long continuous strand of yarn. This yarn is then used to weave or knit the fabric used in hemp garments and textile products. The spinning process is essentially the same for hemp that has been processes using chemical methods or using organic, chemical-free methods. After all, spinning is spinning. What is different in the spinning process between hemp fibers processed using chemical methods and fibers from organic methods is generally the length of the hemp fiber and the spinning machines that are required to spin the long fiber organic hemp and the short fiber, chemically processed hemp. Textile manufacturers who simply want to get on the hemp bandwagon as cheaply as possible are more likely to also use chemical methods to process their hemp fibers. When the hemp fabric is washed and shrunk, the weave will naturally close up. This is in direct proportion to the degree of shrinkage obtained. In practical terms, this means that identically woven fabrics may appear different if one of them has been washed, dyed, bleached, or shrunk. Chemical Methods. Unlike long fiber hemp, short fiber “cottonized” hemp created by chemical processing can be spun and finished on slightly modified cotton or wool processing equipment, so that the existing and cost effective infrastructures for the processing of cotton and wool could be used. This allows textile manufacturers to begin processing hemp fabrics quickly and with a lower cost to enter this new market. Several textile equipment manufacturers are currently conducting spinning trials using short fiber hemp on modern rotor spinning machines. Organic Methods. Today’s fiber spinning machines have been designed for the shorter fibers found in cotton and wool. Because hemp retted using traditional organic methods retains the long fibers in hemp, specialized spinning machinery is required to process the long fibers into spun yarn. The additional expense of the specialized spinning machines and the greater cost to operate, have discouraged existing textile manufacturers to expand their operations into the production of long fiber hemp yarns. CLEANING AND SOFTENING. Among those familiar with hemp fabric from years ago, hemp has a reputation as being stiff and even abrasive to the skin. The naturally long and strong fibers created fabric that was stiffer and heavier. Hemp textile manufacturers have sought ways to improve the softness of hemp fabric. Chemical Methods. Chemical processing uses heavy caustic sodas and acid rinses to pulp, clean and soften the fiber. Unfortunately this strips the fiber of much of its rich character and strength and produces hazardous, environmentally-destructive waste. Solvents are used to scour and clean the fabrics. Organic Methods. Ecologically-minded hemp textile manufacturers have been researching and developing new methods and machinery to produce chemical-free, organic hemp fabrics that are soft to the skin and yet retain the exceptional durability of hemp. ECOLUTION®, an environmentally-friendly grower and manufacturer of hemp products that is based in Romania, has pioneered many of the new metho 070703 ... pinkish Why bother with the wall of text? 070704 what's it to you? who go blather from