Hemp is a fascinating plant and a renewable resource utilized in several significant and commercial industrial products. Hemp has been cultivated for thousands of years to exhibit a wide range of characteristics and applications. Nowadays, hemp is used in many industrial processes, including the production of textiles, non-dairy milks, bioplastics, and CBD (cannabidiol) extracts and products. Apart from its practical use, hemp plants have eye-catching foliage.

With its many environmental advantages, hemp stands out as an ideal answer in our ongoing pursuit of sustainability. As the world moves closer to environmentally friendly practices like biodegradable plastics, reusable bags, and more, hemp stands out for its sustainable effects on the environment. 

 

What is a hemp plant?

The hemp plant (Cannabis sativa) belongs to the Cannabaceae family. It is grown for its edible seeds or bast fibre. Hemp is commonly mistaken for the cannabis plants used to make marijuana and hashish, two narcotic chemicals. The cannabis strain grown for hemp contains much less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) than that grown for marijuana or hashish, even though all three products, hemp, marijuana, and hashish, contain this psychoactive component.

 

Benefits of growing the hemp plant for the environment: 

Here we have listed down 12 benefits of how hemp can be good for the environment:

1. Hemp benefits the soil, water, and air:

Hemp's ability to restore and repair the environment it grows is one of its main advantages. Both farmers and gardeners will find it to be a great addition and crop to rotate. Due to its extraordinary resilience, it can thrive in all types of soil, air, or rainfall conditions.

Although hemp has a lot of cellulose, it requires less water to produce than cotton and trees. Since the plants themselves generate oxygen throughout their life cycle, they are recognized to purify the air. By drawing nitrogen from the environment and absorbing pollutants from the soil, hemp cultivation also lowers soil toxins and enhances soil quality.

2. Grows without the need for toxic chemicals:

The advantages of producing hemp are immediately observable. There is a reason it is called weed. As was already said, it can grow in almost any environment and with very few resources. In terms of the use of pesticides, hemp is also more environmentally friendly. In addition to being entirely natural and impervious to pests and diseases, hemp also needs little amounts of pesticides and fertilizers. As a result, fewer dangerous substances are getting into our water systems.

3. Hemp is bee-friendly:

Growing hemp has several other significant advantages, one of which is that it is bee-friendly. Due to its low-impact, no-till cultivation methods and abundance of nectar-producing flowers, the hemp business is thought to be among the most advantageous for bees. When other flower sources aren't as plentiful, hemp plants are utilized as a substitute, according to several beekeepers.

It's even been reported that hemp fields yield many queen bees, which raises hive fertility and health. The foundation of any productive and long-lasting farm and garden ecosystem is a robust swarm of bees.

4. Hemp reduces deforestation and carbon emissions:

Approximately 25% of all carbon emissions worldwide are caused by deforestation. Growing hemp has the potential to completely reverse this process, not just stop it. This is because hemp plants can absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. One acre of hemp can absorb up to 4.1 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to studies!

5. Hemp improves soil quality and purifies water:

Hemp can improve arid conditions and farms with moderate to little rainfall by absorbing up to three times its weight in water. Regarding water usage, hemp utilizes just approximately 37% of what cotton uses per acre. For farmers who cultivate hemp as an alternative crop in addition to their regular crop rotation, this translates into higher profit margins.

Hemp leaves the soil rich in nitrogen and purifies it, minimizing erosion and acidity problems. Additionally, hemp absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere and stores it in its roots during photosynthesis, which makes it a renewable resource.

Decreased soil erosion means more fertile land for hemp cultivation and a healthier ecosystem overall.

6. Hemp is the best rotation crop:

Hemp farmers are more likely to be profitable than those who grow other crops. This is because they may cultivate it without compromising any of their customary agricultural methods. This implies that one advantage of producing hemp is that it can be profitable without the need for chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides.

7. Hemp is better than cotton:

Hemp is physically stronger than almost all types of natural fibres. Hemp fibre is the perfect material to create long-lasting textiles for backpacks, shoes, and clothes because it is stronger than cotton and naturally resistant to UV rays.

In contrast to other plants used to make cotton, hemp grows quickly and doesn't need pesticides to be grown or processed. Strong fibres with a low lignin content—the component of the plant that bonds fibres into yarn are produced by the hemp plant. For this reason, hemp yokes are simple to make.

8. Hemp is stronger than wood fibre:

Hemp fibres are unique. Almost anything can be made with them, including clothing, shoes, rugs, furniture, building supplies like cement, biofuel, and more! Additionally, one of the strongest natural fibres is hemp. Stronger industrial and commercial goods, such as canvas and rope, have been produced using it.

The cellular structure of hemp, which is comparable to that of bamboo and oak trees, gives hemp fabrics their inherent strength and durability by preventing them from breaking as they flex or harden. It is a genuinely exceptional natural resource that can be utilized as a component of about anything.

9. Hemp produces biodegradable plastic:

Over time, hemp fibre and seed products will decompose in landfills. Hemp is well known for producing 100%  biodegradable polymers, but they nonetheless serve many of the same purposes as plastics made from petroleum. Fortunately, this technology is already in use today! A robust plastic called Bionect, which is more eco-friendly than other petroleum-based polymers, is made from industrial hemp.

10. Can be used to produce biofuels:

One natural resource that might lessen our reliance on fossil fuels is industrial hemp. The legalization of hemp is predicted to generate more oil than we now obtain from fossil sources. Hemp was prohibited for many years because it was considered a "drug," although this couldn't be further from the reality! People get high from the psychoactive effects of marijuana, while hemp contains none of that. Hemp is a fantastic resource and not a drug!

11. Hemp produces eco-friendly paper:

Paper goods made from hemp are far more environmentally friendly than those made from wood because they can be recycled many times. Some of the most environmentally friendly packaging materials available today can also be made with it. As hemp fibres are stronger and thinner than paper, its packaging requires less energy and natural resources. When you stop to think about it, we use paper daily, and instead of destroying more trees, we could easily use hemp to make our paper products.

12. Hemp provides a habitat for wildlife:

When hemp flowers blossom, they are a great hiding place for wildlife since hemp plants can grow quickly and tall, up to four meters high. They are an excellent source of pollen for bees. The insects that inhabit the hemp plantations provide food for birds.

 

Conclusion:

Adopting hemp is a significant step toward a sustainable future and goes beyond simply embracing a crop with many uses. Hemp shows sustainable development principles with its exceptional capacity to collect carbon, regenerate soils, preserve water, and give eco-friendly alternatives across industries. We can lessen our ecological footprint, increase biodiversity, and build resilient communities by incorporating hemp into manufacturing, agriculture, and daily life. 

 

References:

1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9913960/
   
   
2. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-8778-5_3
   
   
3. https://www.andykerr.net/hemp-environmental-benefits
   
   
4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772912525000752
   
   
5. https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2023/05/10/scientists-to-deploy-hemp-crops-in-ways-to-combat-climate-change-and-support-underserved-farmers/