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common sense
March 2008 
Hemp
Posted on Jun 28th, 2007
by 
Willowbei
Willowbei
In my travels through the world of zaadz I came across the profile of Summer Rayne Oakes. Her dedication to a fashion industry that is more socially conscious, sustainable, and clean is a breath of fresh air. I also enjoy the humor she brings to this world.
One thing I noticed in what SRO presented was that many fabrics are made of bamboo as well as hemp and organic cotton. One of the essays in my book "Common Sense for the 21st Century" deals with hemp and a practical and logical way to incorporate the growing and production of hemp back into our society. I present that essay here.
Hemp
Cotton is a wonderful and flexible product for the textile industry. It is also a crop that normally requires a great deal of poison to grow. Trees are an acceptable source of pulp for paper but our forests are dwindling and clear-cutting negatively impacts our environment in significant ways.
Hemp is one crop that can meet the needs currently served by both of these products. From the time of the American Revolution to the early 20th century hemp was successfully grown and widely used in this country (virtually all our paper came from hemp). During Word War II, between 1942 and 1945, the United States Government encouraged the growing of hemp. Hemp is currently grown legally in at least 29 countries around the world.
Hemp grown for industrial use is in the same family as marijuana, but a different plant altogether. Would anyone deny that field corn and sweet corn are different? Are not common garden poppies, those grown for seed and opium poppies different? What is it that we fear from the reintroduction of hemp back into our agricultural mix?
It is time to bring hemp back from the fringe of society. It is time to rediscover the adaptability and versatility of this crop. Hemp has the potential to revolutionize not only the textile industry in this country but papermaking, cotton farming, biomass diesel fuel production and other areas of our life as well.
The chemical support (pollution) that is standard procedure in growing (non-organic) cotton successfully is not in our long-term best interest. Twenty-five percent of all pesticides used in the world today are used to grow non-organic cotton.
The adverse effects of harvesting trees via clear cutting are no longer compatible with our ecological awareness. If we continue to rely upon cotton and timber in the same way we have, we continue to show our lack of respect for our earth and for ourselves.
There will be an adjustment period as the cultivation of hemp replaces much of the cotton and timber used in this country. A reasonable and gradual substitution of hemp for cotton and pulpwood can avoid economic adversity to either industry. With tobacco now in declining acceptance, growing hemp could be a natural alternative for tobacco farmers.
Some have suggested that the growing of industrial hemp, which has very little THC (the active ingredient in marijuana), is a step in the wrong direction. In spite of the rope smoking depicted in old Marx Brothers movies, nothing could be further from the truth. Hemp is chemically different from marijuana in significant ways. Industrial hemp has THC levels as low as .03 percent and can approach 1 percent. Marijuana on the other hand can have THC levels between 5 and 20 percent.
Why have we chosen to ignore and/or distort these facts? Why do we continue to relegate industrial hemp to the fringe of those agricultural alternatives available to us?
Hemp is a versatile crop that is relatively easy to grow (it has been successfully cultivated for over 12,000 years). Hemp is a product that can help us all live cleaner and healthier lives. It is time to bring the cultivation of industrial hemp and the use of hemp products back into the mainstream. It is time to recognize that hemp can be a significant part of our increasing desire to be kind to ourselves and our precious earth.
One thing I noticed in what SRO presented was that many fabrics are made of bamboo as well as hemp and organic cotton. One of the essays in my book "Common Sense for the 21st Century" deals with hemp and a practical and logical way to incorporate the growing and production of hemp back into our society. I present that essay here.
Hemp
Cotton is a wonderful and flexible product for the textile industry. It is also a crop that normally requires a great deal of poison to grow. Trees are an acceptable source of pulp for paper but our forests are dwindling and clear-cutting negatively impacts our environment in significant ways.
Hemp is one crop that can meet the needs currently served by both of these products. From the time of the American Revolution to the early 20th century hemp was successfully grown and widely used in this country (virtually all our paper came from hemp). During Word War II, between 1942 and 1945, the United States Government encouraged the growing of hemp. Hemp is currently grown legally in at least 29 countries around the world.
Hemp grown for industrial use is in the same family as marijuana, but a different plant altogether. Would anyone deny that field corn and sweet corn are different? Are not common garden poppies, those grown for seed and opium poppies different? What is it that we fear from the reintroduction of hemp back into our agricultural mix?
It is time to bring hemp back from the fringe of society. It is time to rediscover the adaptability and versatility of this crop. Hemp has the potential to revolutionize not only the textile industry in this country but papermaking, cotton farming, biomass diesel fuel production and other areas of our life as well.
The chemical support (pollution) that is standard procedure in growing (non-organic) cotton successfully is not in our long-term best interest. Twenty-five percent of all pesticides used in the world today are used to grow non-organic cotton.
The adverse effects of harvesting trees via clear cutting are no longer compatible with our ecological awareness. If we continue to rely upon cotton and timber in the same way we have, we continue to show our lack of respect for our earth and for ourselves.
There will be an adjustment period as the cultivation of hemp replaces much of the cotton and timber used in this country. A reasonable and gradual substitution of hemp for cotton and pulpwood can avoid economic adversity to either industry. With tobacco now in declining acceptance, growing hemp could be a natural alternative for tobacco farmers.
Some have suggested that the growing of industrial hemp, which has very little THC (the active ingredient in marijuana), is a step in the wrong direction. In spite of the rope smoking depicted in old Marx Brothers movies, nothing could be further from the truth. Hemp is chemically different from marijuana in significant ways. Industrial hemp has THC levels as low as .03 percent and can approach 1 percent. Marijuana on the other hand can have THC levels between 5 and 20 percent.
Why have we chosen to ignore and/or distort these facts? Why do we continue to relegate industrial hemp to the fringe of those agricultural alternatives available to us?
Hemp is a versatile crop that is relatively easy to grow (it has been successfully cultivated for over 12,000 years). Hemp is a product that can help us all live cleaner and healthier lives. It is time to bring the cultivation of industrial hemp and the use of hemp products back into the mainstream. It is time to recognize that hemp can be a significant part of our increasing desire to be kind to ourselves and our precious earth.
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