If you were of the view that hemp is just a source of Cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive compound in cannabis, think again. The seeds and fiber of this strain — belonging to the cannabis Sativa plan — can be used to make many modern necessities such as plastic, fabric, concrete and fuel. The best part about hemp products is that they are more environment-friendly, besides, of course, being better for the consumers.
Here are a few reasons why hemp serves as a better alternative:
Hemp consumes little water
They say that the third world war will be fought over water and as the sources of freshwater continue to deplete the D-Day doesn’t look far away. The World Bank says that the agriculture industry uses nearly 70% of the world’s fresh water supply; therefore, there is a dire need to use water judiciously.
Notably, Hemp, which is a non-water intensive crop, consumes 40% less water than cotton and thus makes for a more sustainable option.
A better fuel source
Hemp is an excellent source of biofuel!
Traditional biofuel takes up a lot of valuable cropland typically used to grow food, while our beloved hemp can even be cultivated in poor soil, in diverse climates.
Since the biofuel from hemp is derived from the seeds rather than the plant stock, disregarded seeds can be brought into use. In a nutshell, using hemp to make biofuel saves a lot of valuable farmland for other crops.
It makes for a better raw material for plastic
Any material that possesses a decent amount of cellulose makes for a good raw material for plastic. Cotton, wood and hemp are thus good contenders for generating plastic. However, since cotton takes up a lot of water and wood doesn’t have as much cellulose as hemp, the latter remains the ideal choice for ‘biodegradable’ plastic, which brings us to our next point.
Hemp Plastic is biodegradable
The primary reason behind the current buzz of hemp plastic is its biodegradable nature. Conventional plastics, made from oils and other harmful components, take ages to break down, while those made from hemp degrade in 3-6 months.
We understand that it’s very difficult and perhaps economically unfeasible to replace the entire range of traditional plastic with its hemp counterpart. However, it’s high time that we moved more towards the latter. At certain places, hemp plastic straws have completely replaced the conventional ones and that is indeed a great sign.
Hemp crop doesn’t require any pesticide
Pesticides are silent killers; you don’t even get to know how much of it you are consuming each day via fruits and vegetables. Besides causing illness, pesticides are infamous for reducing biodiversity and contaminating water, soil and air.
A number of industrial crops viz. cotton and soybean require significant amounts of pesticides, while Hemp, on the other hand, doesn’t require any of it, even if being grown on a commercial scale. Imagine how happy would our mother nature be if we just replace a fraction of the said crops with hemp.
