Hemp is not a new plant that was just discovered right before the drug wars began. This plant is as old as and is linked to the beginning of civilization.

For 1000’s of years this plant was used for many products and in many places was mandatory to be grown, including the United States.

Over the years, the fibers have been used for clothing, paper, rope, sails, netting, and more. Hemp was relied upon for it’s durability in harsh weather conditions, and salty sea and ocean air. It was one of the only fibers that could withstand so much natural abuse.

The oil that is made from the seeds has been in use for some time as well. It can be used for many products like food, beauty products, fuel, paints and stains, and much more.

And then there is the oil that comes from the plants flowers and leaves, this oil was used medicinally and is recorded as being a wondrous plant ages ago.

The possibilities are seemingly endless as to what we can do with hemp. There are over 25,000 products that can be made from the plant.

That being said brings me to the point of my article.

How can hemp help our environment and our economy?

Hemp and The Environment

You may be asking yourself, how on earth is Hemp, of all things, going to help our environment?

Well, lets see, with our currents situation with trees being clear cut for paper and building materials, we will run out of trees with in the next 50 years. This is catastrophic!

Hemp fibers make a higher quality paper, and produce about 4 times more product per acre, than wood, and hemp grows at a much faster rate than trees do. Industrial hemp can also be used for making very strong construction materials.

Then there are the oil companies drilling precious irreplaceable fossil fuels from our Earth’s core, this has got to have some major repercussions to pay for. These companies not only produce toxic gases, they are also the leaders in non-bio-degradable plastics that are smothering our planet every day!

We can make fuel from the hemp plant as well, Biodiesel, Methanol, and Ethanol as well. Using this plant for fuel for our vehicles and warming our homes is not only safer for us, but the exhaust from them is better for us as well. Their exhaust is what we breathe out. And yes we can make plastic from this plant as well.

Not to mention it is much safer to use and store the fuels made from industrial hemp.

And then there is the cotton industry poisoning our environment by being the biggest user of pesticides and herbicides in the United States. This is killing off honey bees at an alarming rate, and Lord knows how much damage these poisons are doing to other insects and small animals that are vital to our ecosystem.

Of course there are other growers using pesticides and herbicides, but cotton I make an example of, because of the high amounts used.

Industrial hemp can be grown without pesticides or herbicides. This is because not many pests are drawn to hemp as its fibers are too tough to bite through to get to the tender yummy pulp. No weed killers need to be used because hemp is planted so close together that it does not leave room or nutrients for competitive weeds to grow.

Hemp can make all the products I have mentioned above and more. So we can grow a plant that can replace all of those industries. And it is better for us to use these products, and better for our environment as well.

Hemp produces more oxygen and cleans more dirty air than most plants as well. Growing this on a large scale in the US, and the world would be highly beneficial, and then in turn using it for all the above products and more!

In the long run it comes down to industrial hemp being very renewable, very useful, and being naturally biodegradable. We still have to do our part with cutting consumption and recycling!!

Hemp’s Possible Effects On The Economy

This is a very simple question to answer. If farmers are allowed to grow industrial hemp and medicinal hemp, this creates jobs for harvesting and processing hemp for sale.

Then even more jobs are created for the making of the products we demand such as paper, fuel, oil, food, clothing, textiles, and much more. We would have more American made products in our stores and be supporting our own economy very successfully!

Our founding fathers were very correct when they said that hemp is the backbone of our country. They all grew it and utilized it to its fullest potential at the time, and it offered a lot back then! So much that it was mandatory to grow and you could pay your taxes with it as well.

Somehow over time with fear of competition, and bad politics hemp became illegal. With it’s come back, we need to take full advantage of what this plant has to offer! This is a game changer for sure!

How Can We Help As Consumers?

How can we stop this by shopping you say?

Well think about your next purchases. Are you buying tree free paper? Do you wear organic cotton (no pesticides or herbicides) or hemp, are you buying fuel that is made from petroleum? What is your water bottle made of? Do you recycle, or try to cut your consumption of disposable products to lessen the load of the landfills?

We as consumers must make a choice and soon! We have a lot to do with the direction of our environment.

I would love to hear your comments and opinions of this topic. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

As always, thank you for reading my article.

Stacie Fortson

Go Green With Hemp