Luke’s Opinion;
There’s a couple of different ways we can look at what’s going on with hemp at the moment. Quite simply, that its either a trend or a movement.
If it’s a trend, we will see a massive temporary uptake in anything hemp related – hotel rooms will offer hemp soaps, hemp clothing will fly off the shelves, hemp oil will become the new coconut oil and so on. All of these products will be largely overpriced and relatively inaccessible to the majority of the population, because that in essence is what to me, denotes a trend, something that expends all of its commercial energy making vast amounts of cash for the companies that see, and consequently seize an opportunity in a short amount of time. And to some extent, good on them. Its far better than ignoring the public outcry for sustainability and earth friendly products all be it a little short sighted. Then as trends always do, it will be relegated to the bargain bins ready for the next big thing to take its place.
Or… excitingly, it’s a movement. Now, a movement to me is something that has more legs. It will start at a deeper level. Bills will pass through governments that will fundamentally change the way we look at hemp. We will start to collectively see the benefits of farming a plant that dramatically reduces the need for, among other things, herbicides, pesticides, fossil fuels and cotton. Hemp has a much higher yield per square meter than the likes of wheat or cotton, and is by far more resistant to pests and disease than these two crops, which are currently the biggest commercial crops on the planet. So, we could be farming less land, getting more product per square meter, and drastically reducing the amounts of harmful chemicals we pump into the soil…. Huh! So why isn’t this front-page news?
Hemp has an incredible yield and versatility… at last count there was about 25,000 different applications for hemp and its derivatives, including a high-quality biofuel, and paper that is naturally white so the use of bleach would no longer be needed in the paper production process. Ok, so far, this innocuous plant is punching well above its weight in benefits. Add to this, hemp can convert and store CO2 at a much higher rate than most other plants, and has a deep tap root that draws more water and nutrients form the soil and in doing so reducing the amount of water used for irrigation. We have in essence a kind of “topical balm for the earth”. Something we can do to heal the scars of our historic ignorance. Come on people!! See why a movement is so exciting?!? We have the opportunity to implement this movement to produce a lasting positive outcome for our future.
Hemp has been on our radar for awhile and we were pretty excited to offer the world a Hemp Snackaball range, made with Hemp seeds rather than a refined powder. Seeds have 30% protein, contain all 9 essential amino acids, are a great source of fibre, and with an ideal 3:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 acids – they really are a superfood. And perhaps, just maybe, we have just dished up a super snack. Happy snacking.