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Declaration of Into Hempness When the Governor terminated The California Industrial Hemp Farming Act, in September, it was another setback for thousands of farmers, business people, and all those who support the cultivation of industrial hemp for its highly nutritious oil and seed and for the opportunity to create new jobs and improve the environment. This landmark bipartisan legislation, had been enacted, would have established clear guidelines for farming of industrial hemp, which is a valuable resource in a wide variety of everyday consumer products, including food, body care, clothing, and paper. Demand for hemp products has been growing so rapidly in recent years with the US hemp product market now exceeding $270 million in estimated annual sales, that the legislations passage would have had significant economic advantages for a number of Californian manufacturers who currently must import hemp seed, oil and fiber for their products. According to Eric Steenstra, founder and President of Vote Hemp, the nation?s leading industrial hemp farming advocacy group, the veto was not based on facts but rather an irrational fear of appearing soft on drugs during an election year. Although hemp was first cultivated in California in the late 1800's in Butte County, near the town of Gridley, commercial industrial hemp farming ceased in the state shortly after World War II. The primary reason industrial hemp has not been grown in the United States since that time is its perceived similarity to marijuana. In fact, the two types of plants are quite distinct. The Industrial hemp plant?s stalk is long and strong, has few branches, has been bred for maximum production of fiber and/or seed, and grows to up to 16 feet in height. It is planted in densities of 100 to 300 plants per square yard. Drug varieties of Cannabis on the other hand, grow only up to six feet tall and have been bred to have many branches in order to maximize flowers and minimize seeds The drug and non-drug varieties are also harvested at different times and planting densities look different from the air. Most importantly, Industrial Hemp leaves and flowers have no psychoactive effects or THC content. The use of hemp seed as a human food spans thousands of years and was a staple of the Chinese diet through the 10th century. It is said that hemp was eaten to remain fertile, strong, and vigorous.The seed contains all nine essential amino acids, both essential fatty acids, as well as a variety of minerals and vitamins including A, B1, B2, B6 and E. The Record of Rites or Li Chi, an ancient book of classical Confucian works, places hemp among the five grains of ancient China, which included barley, rice, wheat, and soybeans. A variety of products can also be derived from the hemp seed. When pressed, the seed yields a nutty oil and a high protein cake that can be ground into a flour for baking. The oil has all the essential fatty acids, the flour holds all the protein, while the nut contains both. There are of course several other important potential uses of hemp. If hemp was cultivated on just 12% of the European landmass, it would meet the entire worlds demand for paper, and eliminate a great deal of deforestation. Hemp pulp, from which hemp paper is made, is as durable as wood pulp, and it needs only one quarter of the land required to grow. While chlorine is used for bleaching in wood-pulp manufacturing for paper production, hemp pulp can be produced using the ASA pulp method, which hardly produces any pollutants. Moreover, hemp paper is of such high quality and durability that it hardly deteriorates, even after 200 years, as in the case of The Declaration of Independence and the first draft of the Constitution both of which were written on hemp. |