The positive impact of hemp on the planet
Hemp is one of the world’s oldest crops. A variety of the Cannabis sativa plant species that is grown specifically for industrial use, hemp’s beneficial medical applications are well known. It can also be refined into numerous commercial items. But are you aware of all the wonderful ways hemp can actually help the planet, and how it provides solutions to living in harmony with the environment and the ecosystems that support it?
Hemp has been harvested for thousands of years. Indeed, the world at large has been enjoying the benefits of hemp for millennia. Depicted are peasants working the hemp plant on the banks of the Rhine River, circa 1860.
Hemp, or more specifically industrial hemp, is a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant. Although they belong to the same plant family, it’s important to stress that hemp is different from cannabis, commonly known as marijuana.
Cannabis has high amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical that is responsible for the high you get. Hemp describes the edible plant seeds and only contains a trace amount of THC, in fact below a threshold of 0.3%.
Once a major crop in the United States, hemp and its cultivation was banned in the 1970s with the rise of the war on illicit substances in the 1970s.
The 2018 Farm Bill, however, reclassified hemp, and it is now legal to cultivate and process industrial hemp in all 50 states. Recently, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) created the US Domestic Hemp Production Program to stimulate the developing domestic hemp market and incentivize technological growth, as noted by digital climate change platform The Years Project.
So, what is the hype around hemp, and what can it do for you and the planet?
Hemp is easy to farm. It requires little water, and can flourish in almost any climate and in a wide variety of terrains and soil types. Crucially, growing hemp prevents pesticide pollution. This is because the plant is naturally resistant to pests.
Hemp is super climate-friendly. It absorbs carbon better than almost any other crop. It does this by reducing carbon emissions through rapid carbon dioxide uptake. Rather than releasing it into the atmosphere, it sequesters it in the soil.
And here’s a glowing statistic: according to The Years Project, one acre of hemp can remove 10 tons of carbon from the air—more than the average home emits in a year.
The hemp plant forms deep roots, helping to hold the soil together, thus limiting the effects of soil erosion. Furthermore, the stem and leaves of the hemp plant are rich in nutrients, the beneficial remnants of which remain in the soil after harvesting.
