The term hemp encloses many varieties of cannabis sativa, species belonging to the same family as cannabis. It is a year-long herbaceous plant with palmate leaves, and erect and hairy stem from which textile fiber is extracted.
Cannabis plant’s story goes back thousands of years, it is one of the most ancient plants known. It was grown all over the world for its adaptability and the thousands of uses it can be employed in, from industrial sector to therapeutic.
Origins and evolution in history
The first cultivations of cannabis appeared in history around 10,000 years ago in Central Asia. There it was grown to make textures by Japanese, Mongols and Tartars before the discovery of silk and cotton. In China and Mesopotamia cannabis was a frequent food - thanks to its highly nutritious seeds – and a textile fiber used to make robes, rough textile, paper, canvas. It was also known for its therapeutic powers, from its seeds and flowers, famous remedy against various aches and disorders.
The period when hemp spread the most was between 2,700 a.C and Ancient Rome. Its adaptability was so famous that around year 1,000 it was defined the queen of fiber plants. As it is very resistant to salt water, it was used to make fishing nets and very light and long lasting sails for boats and ships.
Hemp also played a crucial role in India, mainly for religious and spiritual aspects of the nation and its neighbors – and for its important history as a medicine in that area.
At the beginning of modern era, the plant kept being used to manufacture boats and ships, robes and sails, to the point that it was perceived as one of the main factors of the New World discovery and colonialization. Great Britain’s king Henry 8 even ordered farmers to grow cannabis to extend the empire.
This material’s use and production diminished since 19th Century, as many countries started restricting and criminalizing the plant and other drugs. The sectors that covered that production slowly started disappearing. In the USA, where this industry was strong, the last harv was in 1957, in Wisconsin.
Hemp today – as biomaterial
One of the main features of cannabis today are the many products you can get out of one source – food for humans and animals, cosmetics, biomaterials and so on.
Starting from cannabis growth, positive effects can be noticed on the envirnment, thanks to its ability to absorb double the carbon than most plants. According to a study conducted by Cambridge University, ‘industrial hemp absord 8 to 15 tons of CO2 per hectare. Woods usually capture 2 to 6 tons of carbon dioxide yearly, depending on the years of growth, climate region and tree types’, meanwhile providing designers and architects with carbon-negative biomaterials. As a matter of fact, from the plant a series of materials can be produced that can work instead of glass, aluminum, and others – it is also suitable as zero-emission biological plastic.
Hemp production can create re-usable boxes or textile fibers – that require 75% less water than cotton production. This material s durable, mold-resistant, transpiring and antibacterial.
Moreover, the plant is considered a good alternative to wood, firstly as a sustainable source of pulp to make paper, 7 or 8 times reusable - while paper can be reused 3 to 5 times. Lastly, it doesn’t need chemical whitening.
For its thermic and acoustic isolation capacity, the material made out of cannabis plant can be used to produce bricks. In its lifetime a building made of this material is estimated to absorb up to 35.5 kg of CO2, as each ton of dry substance can stock 1 to 3 tons of carbon dioxide. A few buildings have been built with this type of bricks all over the world. In 2018 in Netherland a house was erected with precast hemp. In 2021 in French town Croissy-Beaubourg, near Paris, the first public building in hemp-stones was built.
Hemp production in the EU
Between 2015 and 2018, the area dedicated to cannabis growth increased by 75%, going from 19,970 to 34,960 hectares. In the same period, hemp production grew from 94,120 to 150,820 tons (rising by 62.4). France is the main producer, representing over 70% of EU production, followed by Netherland (10%) and Austria (4%).
Obviously, cannabis is grown for industrial needs and, for its law THC level, the plant complies with CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and is not used to produce drugs.
Strict standards rule growth and sales of hemp, especially art. 189 of EU Regulation 1308/2013. It establishes that hemp imports must demonstrate import licence and respect given parameters. For example, THC rate must be not over 0.2%, and cannabis seeds not used for sowing can be imported only by authorization of EU States and authorized importers must prove seeds were put in conditions that prevent sowing.
For example, in Italy the most ancient tradition about hemp usage is textile. In this field, a sensible technical gap can be noticed, particularly about going from row material to yarn. This factor is the primary obstacle to boosting this field. In general, though, in many parts of the world this type of cultivation is re-gaining energy, both for the rising price of oil and the attention to the environment.
Another reason that reactivated hemp production is land cleaning from heavy metals. Also the EU states this type of plantation can be a valid alley to European Green Deal for its environmental advantages: carbon stocking, land erosion prevention, scarce or no pesticide use.
All sources used for this article are free to consult
https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/crop-productions-and-plant-based-products/hemp_en