How Hemp is Helping Our Planet One Seed At a Time

Read all about how hemp seeds are doing wonders for our planet. 

At Hemp North, we’re experts in growing, dehulling and packaging hemp. We’ve learned a lot since the opening of our UK hemp farm in Northumberland in 2021. The value chain for British-grown hemp products is currently underdeveloped, hindering the viability of growing the crop on UK farms. We’re on a mission to change this! 

Hemp is an industrial crop of Cannabis sativa grown for high-quality fibres and has a variety of uses from commercial to industrial products like bioplastics, textiles, biofuel and as well as highly nutritious seeds. 

Industrial hemp has been legal to cultivate in the UK since 1993. It wasn’t always legal but it’s still typically grown at a smaller scale than mainstream arable crops. Hemp is cultivated much wider in places like America and China. The international market is booming with hemp products, hemp is often imported into the UK but that’s beginning to change.

Part of our mission is to spread the word about hemp and how it’s doing wonders for our planet as well as its nutritious value. In this article, you’ll learn how our farm, amongst many hemp farms, is making a difference to our planet. 

How does a hemp farm help the planet?

It’s no secret that growing plants is great for mother nature, but some plants are more helpful than others. Hemp is a great example of this, it helps our wildlife, CO2 retention, soil restoration, and plastic and meat replacements. 

No pesticides

Unlike other plants, hemp doesn’t need any pesticides.

We need to protect the bees, birds and other small mammals that live with us on this planet of ours. Did you know that pesticides are detrimental to wildlife? Yes, pesticides are harmful and expose surrounding wildlife to unnecessary risks. Equally, exposure to pesticides is also harmful to us as humans.

With the lack of pesticides needed to grow hemp, our surrounding wildlife is protected. And that’s one of the many great things about hemp. Hemp farms are wildlife friendly.

Psst: at Hemp North, all our hemp is lab tested for quality and nutrition.

Soil restoration

Due to the fast growth of hemp, it’s brilliant for soil restoration. 

Hemp allows the soil to aerate and drain extremely well. It takes roughly four months for hemp to grow, making soil regeneration a constant process. Hemp roots can grow up to nine feet deep, so any soil that comes into contact with it will benefit from all of its nutrients so any damaged soil will be restored. 

Nature’s purifier: CO2 retention

You read that right, industrial hemp sucks up CO2 and as a result, reduces existing levels of greenhouse gases. 

As it’s one of the fastest growing crops in the world, it can consume 4x the amount of CO2 in the same area of forest land, that’s 15 tonnes of carbon per hectare. It makes the air around us a lot cleaner. Additionally, it replaces the causes of many carbon emissions. 

Hemp fibre is biodegradable and is a great replacement for plastic

Plastic pollution is an environmental issue we should be conscious of. One of the great things about hemp is that its fibre is biodegradable and can act as a replacement for plastic. We all must do our part in looking after the planet we inhabit. Hemp can help us do this. There are many uses for hemp beyond human consumption.

There are already various industries around the world putting hemp to use in different ways, for example, the fashion industry. Hemp is currently used in over 25,000 fashion products globally, and this number is set to grow as designers take the initiative of reducing the need for plastics.

Hemp can be used for a variety of commercial and industrial products such as:

• Bioplastics and biofuel
• Textiles and insulation
• Paper and ropes
• Shoes and clothing

A simple switch can make a huge difference to our planet, but also to our bodies. You can add hemp into your diet as easily as putting hemp hearts into your morning smoothie and reap all of their great benefits. 

Packed with protein so it’s a great alternative to meat products.

Everyone knows that meat contains protein, but what if I told you that hemp seeds and hearts are a healthier protein alternative? Yes, that’s right. Hemp is a great source of plant-based protein. 

Hemp hearts contain all 20 amino acids that your body needs. One serving of hemp hearts has 10g of protein. Hemp protein helps with the absorption of nutrients. Hemp is packed with many nutrients that are good for your heart too. Hemp is a great meat alternative and can be added to the simplest of recipes.

You can read more about how hemp improves your health here. 

Get your hemp hearts from our UK-based hemp farms

Support hemp farms (and the planet) by purchasing some of our hemp products. All of our packaging is environmentally friendly! Our hemp heart pouches are biodegradable and take 10 weeks to compost and our hemp bottles can be recycled and reused time and time again!

Hemp products we have to offer:

• Hemp hearts (pouches and wholesale)
• Hemp shells (for cushion filler)
• Hemp seed oil is coming soon
• Hemp flour is coming soon

Make your first hemp purchase today via our website.