Hemp Uses

Hemp, a plant which belongs to the family of cannabis, is, in little words, the brother of marijuana, which is a reason why hemp is often misunderstood and cultivation of the same is often banned in many countries. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes, including paper, textiles, eco-friendly plastics, building, health food, fuel, and therapeutic benefits. However, these uses did not find any major success until 2007, after which hemp found a widespread appeal. Hemp is one amongst the many plants which were domesticated at early stages of human evolution, thanks to its eco-friendly nature. Hemp requires very low amounts of pesticides and almost no herbicidal treatments for quality crop output. Also, did you know that hemp is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet? The hemp is also known as non-psychotic Cannabis and the major producers include Canada, France, and China. The major importer of hemp is the U.S. In the following lines, we have mentioned some of the popular uses of hemp.

Uses Of Hemp

Hemp can be used for making textiles. Recent developments in processing techniques have made it possible to alleviate coarse hemp fibers to a level, where dresses can be produced.
Hemp seeds contain highly nutritious amounts of essential amino acids and fatty acids. They are also an adequate source of calcium and iron. Hemp seeds can be eaten in their raw form or grounded or sprouted into a meal. Hemp seeds can be made into hemp milk (akin to soy milk) or prepared as tea and used for baking. Whole seeds of hemp are also a good source of minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, copper and manganese.
Nutritional supplements can also be created from hemp. It has been proved that hemp seed oil contains a large dietary supplement of omega-3 which is higher than that of even walnuts.
Hemp oil has anti-inflammatory properties, which add to its medicinal value.
Hempcrete, which is a mixture of hemp hurds and lime, is used as a building and insulation material across many countries.
Hemp is a part of the composite materials that are used in automobiles. The actual composition includes a mixture of fiberglass, hemp fiber, kenaf, and flax. Henry Ford made what was known as the “Hemp Car”, with wheat straw, hemp and sisal. Long before lightweight cars were thought of, he called it a car made from the soil.
Hemp plant is also used in making paper. However, hemp pulp paper is extremely rare, as the total hemp pulp production is quite low. In the year 1991, world hemp pulp production was believed to be around 120,000 tons per year, which was about 0.05% of the world's annual pulp production volume. The hemp pulp production has only lessened with passing time.
Ropes made of hemp were phased out when Manila ropes appeared. However, hemp is still used in manufacture of cordage of varying tensile strength.
Hemp seeds are used as bird feeds and leaves. The seeds are also used in livestock feed.
The core of the stem also known as hemp shives, are used in animal bedding.
Hemp is also used as a “mop crop”. Mop crops are used to cleanse the soil of unwanted impurities. It is so effective that hemp is even being used to clean contaminants from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site.
Hemps are used as weed control mechanisms too. They outgrow any tough weed that is tough to remove. They remove the weeds by minimizing the pool of weed seeds of the soil. But due to their dense and high foliage, they themselves are considered as weeds.
Hemp can also be used to create bio-fuel, biomass and alcohol-fuel. Filtered hemp oil can be used directly to power diesel engines. Henry Ford grew industrial hemp on his property after 1937, probably to demonstrate the cheapness of methanol creation.

How to Cite

See also

More in 'Home & Living'