The Hemp Report

     There are many simple things that we all can do to help stop global warming, not only on Earth Day (Tuesday, April 22) but every day. Many of us have learned to reduce, reuse and recycle, but even more importantly we need to make our dollars count by purchasing high-quality products that do what they are supposed to, last longer and have less impact on the environment. Products made with hemp can do all of these things and more.

     We do need to be realistic, however. Our information-driven industrial society is not going to vanish tomorrow and leave us to fend for ourselves. We often refer to hemp as "industrial hemp," a reminder that it is an integrated part of our larger society. Hemp will still need to be grown, processed, packaged, transported and sold to consumers within the system that we now have. We are not going to be taken back magically in time to a place where hemp is grown on small plots, harvested with horse-powered farm implements, processed in a small-scale cottage industrial setting and used only locally.

     We can work towards a future where the best aspects of older systems and more modern ones are integrated to create a better, more sustainable one. Think globally and act locally. Hemp is a part of this future, but farming it locally will be key as fuel and transportation costs increase. Hemp-based building materials are a perfect example of products that should be grown, processed and used locally.

     On another note, reasonable hemp farming legislation continues to be introduced and passed in Australia, although they do need to amend their food regulations, along with New Zealand, to allow hemp seed to be used as a food product for people. It can't right now, and that's just plain silly — the exact reverse of the situation here in the U.S., where hemp can be used in human foods but cannot be farmed.

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