Hemp

What is hemp?

Hemp is an amazing resource, often considered one of nature's most perfect plants. Packed with protein, fiber, and amino acids and known as a "wonder crop," the industrial hemp plant is abundant and environmentally sustainable, requiring no pesticides or herbicides to flourish.

Rich in nutrients and taste

Health experts agree that humans need a ratio of 4 to 1 omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, which work together to regulate thousands of metabolic functions in the body, but Western diet ratios are typically 10 to 1 or more. Research has shown that an imbalance in omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids may contribute to a wide range of illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, arthritis, diabetes, skin problems, and mood disorders.

Hemp seeds have an omega-6/omega-3 ratio of 3 to 1 or less, which helps compensate for omega-3 deficiencies elsewhere in our diets. Hemp seeds are also high in protein with all nine of the essential amino acids, making the seeds an ideal alternative to other complete sources of protein like meat, milk, and eggs.

But how can something so good for you taste so good? Hemp's naturally nutty flavor is similar to pine nuts, and the seeds add a satisfying crunch to many of our breads and baked goods. Search our hemp products.

A multi-use plant

Hemp is one of very few crops with whole-plant value. The seed is used for food, body care products, animal feed, and industrial products like oil paint and printing ink. The plant's fibrous stalk is made into clothing, industrial textiles, paper, animal bedding, garden mulch, building materials, and even renewable energy sources like ethanol and biofuel.

Hemp's origins

"Make the most of the hempseed, sow it everywhere!" — George Washington, 1794

Hemp has been cultivated around the world since ancient times. In the U.S., hemp was historically grown as an environmentally sustainable and economically viable rotation crop with corn and soybeans. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned hemp plantations, and the Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper. Hemp sails and rigging guided 19th-century seafarers, and many California gold diggers in the gold rush of 1849 were clad in hemp Levi's jeans. During World War II, a government program called "Hemp for Victory" expanded the hemp industry to meet the supply demands of war.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency made it illegal to grow hemp in the U.S. in 1970, erroneously lumping industrial hemp in with its cousin marijuana in a zero-tolerance policy during the war on drugs. Industrial hemp is a relative of marijuana, but they differ greatly in chemical makeup. Marijuana has 5 to 25 percent THC, the psychoactive ingredient in certain varieties of Cannabis, and very little CBD, an "anti-psychoactive" ingredient. Industrial hemp is just the opposite, high in CBD, the anti-psychoactive ingredient, and low in THC (less than 0.3 percent). THC levels in industrial hemp are so low that it's impossible to get high from smoking or eating it.

The U.S. is the largest importer of hemp in the world. At French Meadow Bakery™, we use hemp seeds in our products because we believe in the seed's incredible nutritional profile and its healing properties for our bodies and the earth.

For more information about industrial hemp, visit the Hemp Industries Association.