Download - Hemp Lifestyle Magazine
Hemp Lifestyle Magazine 03 1
Will AustrAliA AlloW hemp As A
superfood?
DaviD Leigh
the Kestrel sustAinAble trAnsport
mAde from hempDiane WaLsh
GettinG our hAnds dirty At the
hemp buildinG WorKshop
Dionne Payn
LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE
1s t March 2012 I s sue 03 hempl i f e s t y l emaga zine .com
GettinG hemp ClothinG into the mAinstreAm LinDa Werner
Win The Ecobears book
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Contributors eDitoriaLWelcome to the March 2012 edition of Hemp Lifestyle Magazine. Yep, we’ve had a name change, we have a new look and I’m very excited to share our new direction with you.
Firstly, thank you to all of our contribu-tors for providing not only the awesome content, but heaps of inspiration too. And thank you for dear reader for com-ing back for more.
Hemp Lifestyle Magazine - a constant evolution!
When I started Hemp Industry Insider magazine, I had no idea where it was going to go. I only knew that I had to stop sitting on the sidelines and trans-late my passion into something that was practical and would help other people.
I got the sense that if I was on the right path, then the people that needed to be involved would be there and would be happy to be a part of something bigger than themselves. And that sense, that intuition was spot on. (By the way, I’m not claiming any credit for that, I’m just glad that I listened and followed it).
And as part of that intuition, there was a knowing that what I started in the 18th July 2011 wasn’t going to be a polished product - it couldn’t be because it need-ed other people to be a part of that vi-sion to move things along.
Here’s an insight to the inner workings of Dionne - I’m a recovering perfectionist :-)
If I had let my perfectionist tendencies take over, you wouldn’t be reading this right now. Every last detail of the maga-zine would be written down, planned out, thought through but it wouldn’t be launched yet. Paralysis by analysis I think they call it.
Yet as more people have come onboard to contribute articles, prizes and positive comments, the magazine has taken on a life of it’s own.
And the change of name and look is a reflection that the magazine is an inclu-sive entity - it’s there for those in the trade, those that are partially curious, and those that don’t know that it exists yet.
In fact, calling the magazine an inclusive entity is a little short of the mark. It’s not even about the magazine, it’s about the community that we are - made up of the
readers, contributors & advertisers. All coming together with a belief that hemp is part of the solution for the greater good of our society.
It was Tony Budden that gave me the idea for the name. We were talking a while back and he made the statement that hemp is a lifestyle choice, and it is. As we learn more about hemp, incorpo-rate more hemp products into our lives and tell our friends and our families we can’t help but be activists for the cause. Even if it is from our armchairs!
What do these changes mean for you? Well we have a new website where you can read the current issue online or download the magazine to your computer. Visit us at www.HempLife-styleMagazine.com and tell us what you think of the new look.
We’re setting up a facility where you will be able to order and subscribe to the hard-copy version of the magazine to be sent wherever you are in the world. Hopefully this will be in place by the time you read this.
But even with all of these changes our commitment to bringing you news and articles about all of the positive and cool things happening with hemp is the same. And we are always willing to hear your suggestions and comments about where to go with the magazine.
Thank you for evolving with us. It’s not always a smooth ride but it’s a fun one and personally I’m glad that we are all in this together!
Enjoy Hemp Lifestyle Magazine!
Dionne PaynhemP LifestyLe magazine
DanieL Kruseis the founder of Hempro International, based in Duessel-dorf, Germany. Hempro Int. sells a large range of hemp foods, textiles and cosmetics.
DaviD Leighis a writer and filmmaker based in Tasmania, Australia and his documentaries and books can be found at his website www.davidleigh.com.au. David’s in-terests in hemp are many. He intends building a house from hempcrete in Tasmania, is
interested in the health aspects of hemp seed prod-ucts as a food source and wants to see hemp replace logging in native forests and plantations for fibre.
LinDa Werneris the founder of Think Sub-stance. Inspired after reading Jack Herer’s book, ‘The Emperor Wears No Clothes’, Linda be-gan designing a range of hemp clothing that contain messages from the book. With a natural eye and magnetism for talent,
Linda envisions a company that serves as a hub where the most talented and creative forces can collaborate to serve a common greater good.
Diane WaLshMA, is an independent inves-tigative journalist based in the Pacific Northwest dividing her time between Vancouver Is. and Seattle. You can read more about Diane at her site www.indydianewalsh.word-press.com
Dionne Paynis the founder and Editor of Hemp Lifestyle Magazine. Af-ter months of trying to find up to date and credible in-formation about hemp, she decided to ask people in the industry what they were up to. There were so many interesting
stories and she realised that other people might want to hear these too. Dionne decided to start her own magazine which was launched on the 1st August 2011 after just 2 weeks.
annDrea hermannM.Sc., P.Ag, BGS is the President Elect of the Hemp Industry Association, Special Comittee Member of the Candian Hemp Trade Aliance, Ower of The Ridge Interna-tional Cannabis Consulting and Primary contact for Hemp
Technologies Canada Hempcrete Builders. Contact Anndrea at [email protected]
hemP PubLisher images/ art graPhiC Design aDvertisment hoW to reaCh usLifestyLe magazine Dionne Payn fotoLia.Com anDrea PeDersen Dionne Payn hemplifestylemagazine.commonthly online [email protected]
Content Disclaimer:
Hemp Lifestyle Magazine is published under the explicit understanding that content contained in the magazine is based on the knowledge and understanding of the contributors at the time of writing. Any statements, advice or opinions expressed herein are made for the benefit of the reader only.
Therefore Hemp Lifestyle Magazine, or its contributors, will not accept responsibility for any damage or loss which has occurred or may occur as a result of a person’s action (or inaction) related to said statements or advice.
Hemp Lifestyle Magazine accepts no responsibility for the reliability or accuracy of articles or advertising. Hemp Lifestyle Magazine does not necessarily agree with or accept the views expressed or implied by the contributors.
Hemp Lifestyle Magazine. Copyright © 2012. All Rights Reserved. Dionne Payn
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Despite the torrential rain and thunderstorms that bat-tered the hinterland village, 26 brave participants attend-ed Steve Allin’s hemp building course in Maleny, Austra-lia.
While building with hemp might sound quite incred-ible, there are structures dating back to the 6th century in which hemp was incorporated into their construction. One of the most famous hemp buildings was built over 300 years ago in the village of Nagano in Japan.
The modern form of hemp building was invented in the mid 1980’s by Charles Rassetti and is becoming increas-ingly popular in countries including France, Belgium, Swit-zerland, Spain, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland (North and South), Canada, South Africa, Czech Republic, Slova-kia and Australia. Even the USA, where it is for all intents and purposes illegal to grow hemp, there are a handful of properties constructed using hemp masonry.
While hemp building techniques may vary between the different locations due to local climate and availability of materials, they all share a common goal. Which is to use a material that has so many benefits to human health and the environment.
Hemp can grow without pesticide or agrichemical inputs, meaning it has a low environmental footprint. When used as a rotation crop, hemp increases soil fertility resulting in better yields for on-following crops. The hempcrete build-ing material is comprised of the woody core of the plant, also known as hurd or shiv, and lime-based binders. The lime portion of the mix acts as a biocide, which makes hempcrete buildings naturally pest and mould resistant.
Hempcrete buildings are described as being ‘breathable’, which means that the pores inside the hurd allow mois-ture to easily pass through the hempcrete structure, and allows for a constant indoor temperature, regardless of whether it is hot or cold outside. One course participant who had been inside a hemp home in Tasmania, said that the air quality inside the building was so good you
could taste it!
The benefits to this are huge when you compare concrete buildings where moisture can get through the walls but can’t escape leading to problems with damp and mould. Recent studies have shown that damp and mould in build-ings are a major reason for the increase of respiratory problems and allergies 1.
Hempcrete buildings are also well known for their insulat-ing properties, which for companies like Adnams Brew-ery and the Wine Society, both of which had their com-mercial premises in the UK constructed using hemp, has meant a huge reduction in energy bills. Initially, Adnams Brewery saved a considerable amount of money through not installing air conditioning at the start of the project, and have since gone on to save over £60, 000 per year in heating and cooling costs.
One of the biggest benefits to building with hemp is that during the growing cycle hemp sequesters large amounts of carbon dioxide, in fact 1 tonne of harvested hemp ab-sorbs 2 tonne of CO2. Even when combined with the lime binder, hempcrete removes more CO2 out of the atmo-sphere than it puts into it making it a carbon-negative material. In contrast, the construction industry is a major source of CO2 emissions – the manufacture of cement alone creates about 5% of the global CO2 released into the atmosphere 2. It will be interesting to see whether governments will support building with hemp building as a valid way to offset carbon emissions.
Steve Allin was the instructor for the course, which was sponsored by Hempcrete and Ecofibre Industries. Steve
1 Mendell MJ, Mirer AG, Cheung K, Tong M, Douwes J, 2011 Respiratory and Allergic Health Effects of Dampness, Mold, and Dampness-Related Agents: A Review of the Epidemiologic Evidence. Environ Health Perspect 119(6): doi:10.1289/ehp.1002410
2 Worrell E, Price L, Martin N, Hendriks C, Meida LO, 2001 Carbon dioxide emissions from the global cement industry. Annual Review Of Energy And The Environment 26, 303-329: doi: 10.1146/annurev.energy.26.1.303
feature
5getting our hanDs Dirty at the hemP buiLDingWorKshoPDionne PaynTwenty-six participants braved torrential rain to
learn how to build with hemp from Steve Allin.
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CooL hemP ProDuCts
hemP neWs rounD uP
hemP marziPan reCiPe
WiLL austraLia aLLoW hemP as a suPerfooD?DaviD LEigH
Win ‘the eCobears’ booK
getting our hanDs Dirty at the hemP buiLDing WorKshoP
By DionnE Payn
the KestreL: sustainabLe transPort maDe from hemPDiane WaLshYou can eat it, wear it, build with it - and soon
you will be able to drive it. Welcome to the
Kestrel, the electric car made from hemp.
saving the PLanet one hemP t-shirt at a timeLinDa WErnEr
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has an impressive list of credentials, he first heard about hemp as a building material 15 years ago while in the middle of building his own home. He experimented and incorporated a small amount of hempcrete into the con-struction and liked the effects so much that a few years later he built a conservatory solely of hemp.
Friends and family liked what he was doing and asked if he could do the same for them, and so Steve’s business was born. Since then Steve has gone onto teach his tech-nique in his books and training courses across the globe. He is director of the International Hemp Building Association and organiser of the International Hemp Building Symposium, the next of which is in Switzerland later this year.
There was a lot to fit in over the three days of the course. The hempcrete building process is fairly simple and is based on the construction of a timber frame, to provide the load-bearing structure. The hempcrete is cast around this frame-work by tamping the material into place between shutter-ing boards. Once that stage is complete the shuttering boards can be removed, the walls rendered and painted with natural and breathable paints.
Steve talked about the different types of binders that can be used in the hempcrete mix. There is quite a choice of binders available, such as natural cement, clay, natural hydraulic lime and pozzolanic ash; however the suitability and availability of those materials depends a lot on where the build is taking place.
For the majority of the workshop, we used Tradical™, a commercially available binder, which has been extensively tested in Europe and gives consistently good results.
We used a mixing pan to mix the hurd, binder and water to get an even and fluffy consistency, and Steve walked us through the in-filling and tamping process. We also got to see how hempcrete could be used for flooring, insula-tion and for building walls.
On day 2 it was time for us to get our hands dirty. We all worked together to build a 900 m high exterior wall on an existing building, complete with damp-proof course (DPC) and lime mortar to ensure the hempcrete wall was protected from absorbing moisture from the ground. Af-ter an amazingly quick build; with 26 people on the case we were complete in time for morning tea, we were able to practice building a wall up to roof level.
On the third day of the course, we tested the fire-proof nature of hempcrete by setting a blow torch flame just millimeters from the wall for 3 minutes. The area of the wall that was touched by the blow-torch flame was smoul-
dering, while the area around it remained cool. While this wasn’t a definitive experiment, it was certainly interest-ing to see how non-reactive the hempcrete material was under these conditions.
After that we just had enough time to render one side of the wall using a hemp, lime and cement mix and create a decorative feature for the other side of the wall before it
was time to say our goodbyes and return to our respective (non-hempcrete) homes.
There were a wide range of people from different back-grounds and professions; nurses, engineers, students, builders, landscapers to name a few. The reasons for attend-ing was extremely varied; a trio from Christchurch, New Zea-land came along in the hope they would learn enough about hemp building to assist in the rebuild of the city after last years earthquakes.
A couple of the attendees had recently bought into eco-villag-
es and were considering whether hemp would make a good crop for the community to invest in for building as well as providing an income source.
Others attended purely to learn how to build a house for themselves or to get experience in another sustainable building technique that they could offer to their clients.
So was the course worth it? Well, the smiles on the fac-es of the participants proved that it certainly was. On a personal level, getting hands on experience with the technique, being able to pick the brains of Steve and the Hempcrete crew and the yummy catering that was pro-vided was fantastic. There was an additional bonus that I certainly hadn’t thought of before attending the course was the power of networking with other people who are also passionate about hemp and the environmental ben-efits that it can bring to our society.
Steve allin has enthusiastically pioneered the use of hemp in building in Ireland and internationally for the last 14 years & is the author of the pre-eminent book “Building with Hemp”. He has also contributed articles to a variety of publications from the Green Building Bible to Cannabis Culture magazine.
Hempcrete australia are the Australasian suppliers of the certified Tradical lime binder as well as supplying hemp herd for the hempcrete. Hempcrete Australia also work closely with builders and designers to guarantee the hempcrete is installed professionally and applies to the Australian standards.
hemPyrus™ PaPer stoCKHempyrus is made from 25% hemp and 75% post-consumer waste. The hemp fibers are imported from Canada as fabric scraps & agri-cultural crops, and mixed with post-consumer paper recovered from the waste stream. The environmental benefits of this material are clear: no new trees were harmed in the manu-facture of this paper, and hemp’s strong fibers, excellent for paper production, require few pesticides & no herbicides. Hempyrus is manu-factured in the USA.
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Dionne Payn and Steve Allin
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heavenLy heLPer hemP for hounDsUsing high quality human grade ingredients com-bined with organic hemp seed to produces a superior dog treat. The dogs reap all the health benefits of hemp seed combined with other yummy flavors like Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, Sweet Pea, Carrot and Oat-meal. You can feel good about what you are feeding your pet and contribute to a greener world.
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Cool Hemp produCts
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Hemp News
Hemp Oil Canada Inc. (HOCI), Canada’s largest bulk wholesale supplier and private label co-packer of hemp food products and ingredients, has suc-cessfully attained FSSC 22000:2011 accreditation for its Food Safety and Quality Program on January 5, 2012.
HOCI is the first hemp food processing facility in the world to achieve this level of food safety and quality accreditation. FSSC 22000 (Food Safety System Certification) is a globally recognized food safety and quality standard under the NSF – Global Food Safety Initiative.
This third party accreditation encompasses GMPs, HACCP and ISO, signifying that the manufacturing process meets globally recognized food safety and quality assurance standards.
“This achievement required a strong commitment from everyone at Hemp Oil Canada for the com-pany to attain GFSI,” says Victor Lu, HOCI Food
Safety Program Manager.
“Attaining the FSSC 22000-GFSI accreditation fur-ther demonstrates our company’s commitment to provide safe and the highest quality hemp food products and ingredients to the mainstream”, says Shaun Crew, President.
For more information about Hemp Oil Canada visit their website here: http://hempoilcan.com
hemP oiL CanaDa the first hemP fooD ProCessor to reCeive gfsi aCCreDitation
The Red Tape Reduction Commission (RTRC) re-leased its final report on Jan. 18, and it included rec-ommendations resulting from suggestions made by a 100 Mile House group.
The report, entitled Cutting Red Tape ... Freeing Business to Grow, involves two sets of hemp-specific recommendations reflecting suggestions submitted by the 100 Mile House Industrial Hemp Pilot Project steering committee.
Committee chair Mayor Mitch Campsall says an over-complicated process requires producers to ap-ply for a licence every year.
“The whole idea of the red-tape [suggestions] was to get the complications out of it and face reality.”
The hemp committee attended a pre-budget meet-ing in Kamloops with federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty about a year ago, he adds, where one of its members made a presentation of the group’s ideas.
“Jack Witty made the presentation; they were only allowing one person [in] at a time.”
Witty says the specific regulations were counterpro-ductive from a grower’s point of view.
“They made the growing considerably more difficult because they were done as a blanket thing to ad-dress the whole country.
“So, if it works in, say the Sun Belt around Toronto, we’re quite a bit further north than that and quite a bit higher up, and so some of our growing needs are different.”
The submission also pointed out they were aware of similar problems are seen on the Prairies, Witty adds.
“At the individual farmer’s level, they don’t always work, and so we identified those that did not work for our area.”
Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod
was at the meeting, and Campsall says she was instrumental in their cause.
“I think the federal government really listened to us ... I have to thank Cathy McLeod because she’s been right on the ball with us every time [the municipal-ity and the steering committee has] gone to her and talked to her about [red tape] stuff like this. She’s been really quick to react.”
The mayor calls the strict requirements “guardian-protecting” and says the regulations are “phenome-nally bad” because of the similarities to hemp’s close relative, cannabis (marijuana).
“Even the buying of the seeds was really difficult. The storage of the seeds has to be secure; there’s just
so much. It’s a huge, huge issue.”
McLeod notified people in the community soon after the report was released, and it’s “an important next step,” the MP says
“I know it was near and dear to [the 100 Mile] group who were very active in terms of advocating for that.”
To review the specific recommendations on hemp, download the report at www.reduceredtape.gc.ca, and go to the Health Canada section in Appendix B.
Story reported by 100 Mile Free Press and can be read at http://budurl.com/zydb
hemP Committee Cuts through feDeraL reD taPe
hemP seeD voDKa next reLease from aLasKa DistiLLeryThe Alaska distillery which was overwhelmed by media attention when it issued smoked salmon vodka is preparing for another press onslaught when it re-leases the world’s first hemp seed vodka.
The vodka and a hemp seed gin go on sale next month in 19 states, including Washington, although the of-ficial launch party is scheduled for - when else? - Apr. 20. Alaska Distillery’s chief operating officer Bella Co-ley says the Wasilla company expects to exceed the sales numbers it achieved with its salmon vodka back in 2010.
“We did $2 million in orders in two months,” Coley recalls. “I think hemp seed will eclipse it.”
According to Coley, Nectar Ales’ annual profits shot up from $1 million to $40 million after the brewery started selling hemp seed beer. “They’ve grown expo-nentially, so that’s good for us,” Coley says.
Flavored vodkas continue to be enormously popu-lar, and not just with the girly drink set that favors the whipped cream and fluffed marshmallow variet-ies that Smirnoff launched late last year. Distillers are now toying with ingredients that appeal to earthier drinkers who pride themselves on their purist streaks, such as the fireweed that Alaska Distiller’s Toby Foster fit into a spirit which debuted last summer.
“Fireweed is not a wildly popular thing because people don’t realize what you can do with it,” Coley says.
Native Alaskans make jams and jellies from the purple wildflower, a tradition long practiced by Foster’s fam-ily.
“It tastes like a honeysuckle,” Coley says of the fire-weed vodka.
Coley describes the hemp seed vodka as smooth-er than whiskey, but not as sweet as a cordial. She compares the sweet, nutty notes to pecans dipped in brown sugar.
The seeds used in the spirit are among the two per-cent of ingredients the distillery doesn’t source from Alaska, a result of federal rules regulating hemp pro-duction. “There’s a huge logistical hurdle,” Coley says when asked why other distilleries haven’t yet attempt-ed hemp vodka. “The whole process takes four years and it’s quite expensive.”
Although hemp seed vodka may sound like a novelty, Coley says sales of smoked salmon vodka have re-mained steady. “We were a little worried when bacon vodka came out,” Coley admits, adding the spirit only enhanced interest in meat-flavored vodkas.
Interest in hemp is already strong, says Coley, who’s been contacted by excited members of the hemp c o m - munity. “We’ve already had
pre-orders,” she says.
Story reported by Seattle Weekly Blogs and can be
read at http://budurl.com/4wus
Round up
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hoW Does your garDen groW?Wayne ‘Wadzy’ Wadsworth has designed and built a new space-saving domestic gardening system called the Auto Pot that he hopes will encourage more people to grow their own food. It requires very little space and uses a valve to regulate water to plants as they need it, eliminating the need for forgetful hu-mans to do it.
“People build a garden bed and get all enthusiastic and then it just goes to weeds,” Wadzy said.
He has built a display model into a cabinet made from hemp particle board imported from Germany by hemp enthusiast Dr Keith Bolton.
“This is a product we should be producing in Australia instead of using wood pulp,” Keith said. “It’s lighter than wood and has better insulation properties.”
Wadzy said the Auto Pot system could live on a bal-cony, or even indoors.
“If we can get people to grow their own food in the city, it would free up agricultural land for industrial crops such as hemp and bamboo that could be used for making plastics, clothing, cosmetics... anything that can be made from oil can be made from plants.”
The Auto Pot is on display at Rvbyesque in Carrington Street, Lismore.
Story reported by The Northern Rivers Echo and can be read at http://budurl.com/7kps
thermoPaL hemP fiber boarDs offer a sustainabLe ChoiCe?In addition to the HPL composite board “Hanffas-er Composite”, Thermopal is now also offering the lower-priced “Decor-Hanffaser” decorative hemp fi-ber board as a direct-coated melamine resin board. “This means that customers will now also find a high quality, user-orientated selection among our sustain-able hemp fibre products,” said product manager Christina Müller-Witzemann.
The use of hemp fibre shives that occur during the processing of a hemp plant make the core material much lighter than standard boards. This makes it the perfect addition to the wood material specialist’s pro-gram of lightweight boards.
Hemp: An ecological, light raw material
Hemp is one of the oldest crops in the world, and also one of the most rapidly regrowing raw materials. It matures in just 100 days, and every kg of hemp ab-sorbs up to 4 kg CO2 from the air. If hemp, like wood, is used in the production of long-lasting materials, it is the perfect combination of the benefits of the use of sustainable raw materials. The annual plant supports environmentally-friendly landscape maintenance, se-cures supplies of regrowing raw materials, and binds
the carbon dioxide that is harmful to the climate. For as long as they are used, hemp fibre boards make a lasting contribution to reducing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. Above all, though, interior design benefits from this innovation because wherever the use of ultra light materials with the best characteris-tics is important, “Decor-Hanffaser” by Thermopal is a genuine alternative to other lightweight boards. One cubic metre of hemp fibre board weighs only approximately 480 kg, which means it is much lighter than traditional chipboard.
Thermopal lightweight boards made of hemp shives are tool-friendly, can safely be screwed anywhere on the surface, and are as easy to process as chipboard. And the same fittings can be used as on traditional wood materials. This sustainable lightweight board is available in over 300 decors and various textures in the extremely favourable formats 2600 x 2020 mm and 3200 x 2050 mm, and in the thicknesses 19 mm and 20.6 mm.
Story reported by Woodworking Network and can be read at http://budurl.com/jqhr
CoLoraDo house biLL aLLoWing stuDy of hemP’s soiL-CLeaning PotentiaL has PaneL’s baCKingA bill to study the benefits of growing industrial hemp cleared its first hurdle in the state legislature Monday.
The bill, from state Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Cokedale, received unanimous support in the House Local Government Committee despite questions about whether it would create a showdown with the federal government, which considers it illegal to grow hemp. The study, which would be funded with private mon-ey, would look at whether industrial hemp is effective at sucking pollutants from the soil, as some research suggests it might be.
“We simply don’t have the data,” said Erik Hunter, a Ph.D. candidate at the Colorado School of Mines who studies using plants to clean soils — a process known as phytoremediation. “We would be creating a new body of data.”
Hunter noted that hemp was planted at the Cher-nobyl nuclear-disaster site in the hopes of cleaning radiation from the ground. On that premise — and on the potential for other uses of hemp for food, tex-tiles and fuel — lawmakers were intrigued.
“This is fascinating to me,” Rep. Pete Lee, D-Colora-do Springs, remarked.
But concerns arose over whether Colorado’s hemp study would be a federally illegal conspiracy. The Drug Enforcement Administration considers hemp and marijuana — hemp’s plant-family twin — to be one and the same, and the cultivation of either with-
out DEA permission is a felony under federal law. Hemp activists argue that it is virtually impossible to get high from hemp.
McKinley’s bill would not require the state to seek DEA permission, which is difficult to obtain.
Lawmakers on the committee questioned whether the bill would authorize illegal activity and whether banks — which have been reluctant to deal with medical-marijuana dispensaries because of federal laws — would be willing to hold the money for the study. “(Would this be a) 10th Amendment charge up the hill?” asked Rep. David Balmer, R-Cen-tennial, referencing the constitutional states’ rights provision?
While hemp activists at the hearing described it as a legal gray area, McKinley said lawmak-ers shouldn’t worry too much about the federal response.
“We’re not growing it; we’re studying it,” McKinley said in a rhetorical distinction that drew laughter from fellow lawmakers. McKinley said the study would be small and would seek to grow hemp on only a hand-ful of well-secured, well-regulated acres.
House Bill 1099 still has a long way to go before be-coming law. Its next stop is the House Appropriations Committee.
Story reported by The Denver Post and can be read at http://budurl.com/whhv
9th International Conference of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
www.eiha-conference.orgMay 23th – 24th 2012Rheinforum, Wesseling / near Cologne (Germany)
Don’t miss the biggest industrial hemp event in 2012 – world wide!Pictures: Hempro Int., Lotus Cars, Hemp Technology Ltd, NPSP Composites
++ Cultivation ++ Processing ++ Economy ++ Sustainability ++ Innovation ++
The congress will focus on the latest developments concerning hemp and other natural fibres as well as hemp nuts, oil and proteins.
Spectrum of participants•Natural fibre industry•Hemp food and feed industry•Cultivation consultants•Engineers•Traders and investors•Research and Development
Applications•Fibres & shives•Bio-Composites•Insulation•Construction•Textiles•Hemp nuts, oil and proteins
Sponsor Organiser
In co-operation with EIHA
Hempro Int.Production Sales Consulting
www.hempro.comInstitutefor Ecology and Innovation
www.hempro.com www.nova-institute.eu
www.eiha.org
Contact Dipl.-Geogr.DominikVogtPhone:+49(0)[email protected]
11-10_Anzeige_A5.indd 1 19.10.11 12:20
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Environmentalists speak often, and prophetically, about the need for more industry impe-tus for cars with low or—even better yet—zero emissions. What’s not centre-stage, and should be, is the fact that hemp fibre can be used effectively as a construction material for a vehicle’s shell. Move over Hybrid.
The Kestrel is now the trend setter.
Not only is this vehicle fully electric, answering the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) demand, it sports the all—green-to-manufacture—hemp based body panels to boot!
Groundbreaking? Indeed it is. Motive Industries Inc., out of Calgary Alberta, is changing the face of car manufacturing by simultaneously employing Hemp and electric for the vi-sion for the industry’s future in Canada.
The Kestrel was showcased for the first time in Vancouver at last September’s Electric Ve-hicle (EV) Conference and Trade show. We’ve caught up with Nathan Armstrong, President of Motive Industries, who says this: “It went very well. Huge response and the internet visits went viral. We did get some flack internally for aligning with hemp, but they got over it.”
That’s music to our ears. Clearly seeing enthusiasm all around him—needless to say, espe-cially among fibre hemp promoters. Armstrong wants to educate people about what we can hope to see developing into a mainstay trend.
“We’re hoping it will demonstrate Canada’s abilities in technology and vehicle develop-ment. Something that hasn’t been highlighted internationally—ever. If successful it will generate a whole bunch of jobs and general industry activity,” says Armstrong.
“We had the scale model there [at the trade show] with the first body panel, but not a finished vehicle. We are still in the manufacturing stage and hope to have a finished vehicle by March 2011.”
But even in these early days there’s no question The Kestrel answers a number of needs. It is a major shift in thinking that will add more green jobs, creative innovation, and most importantly the key use of our Canadian advantage—the fact that by the year 1998 the Feds declared the legal use of mature hemp stalks for manufacturing, construction, tex-tiles and products, etc. Interestingly, the U.S. is more backward, in not allowing the use of
The KesTrelsustainable transportmade from hempBy Diane Walsh
industrial hemp. This lack of vision is good for Canada. The Kestrel demonstrates a new message coming from the auto industry in Canada both economically and envi-ronmentally.
“This project was largely started by a group in Ottawa that was calling for the start of a Canadian OEM [original equipment manufacturer],” explains Armstrong. “They were looking to go the traditional route and were looking to raise $500MM to start the project. I came along and said ‘if Canada is going to do this, why not do something advanced to demonstrate our abilities?’ They all agreed hence the direction this program took.”
The Kestrel is part of Project Eve, created by MII and Toronto Electric, with the purpose of enhancing electric vehicle production across the country. With the first 20 Kestrels being built by polytechnic schools in three prov-inces it’s clear the Kestrel is switching it up—moving the auto-industry in a new bold and creative direction.
“We decided to use the schools for two reasons. They’ve been getting amazing investments from Government to expand on applied research facilities, which are essential-ly the best workshops we could ever hope to find. We’re better off using them than anything else. The second rea-son is student outreach and education. This is a very im-portant part for us and we hope to inspire many students to go build their own stuff,” says Armstrong.
But let’s get right into the facts about hemp as a struc-tural material. It’s thought to have more than twice the strength of other plant fibres. But in addition to not re-quiring much water, little pesticide, and the crop being high-yielding, is it not part of the green economy by of-fering ideal sustainability at its best? Armstrong gives a resounding “Yes!”
Hemp is a fibre that has many advantages over other ma-terials. There are numerous merits to processing and then employing a hemp bio-composite.
“Compared to fiberglass, for the same performance, it’s 10 percent lighter and 20 percent less expensive (in the current market) which will swing further in the coming year. It’s also nice and healthy to work with.”
“It comes in mat form (kind of like) stiff cardboard. This is processed by the Alberta Research Council using es-sentially a paper-making process. It is all very green and low energy.”
It requires less heat and fewer chemicals to produce the fibres, and uses the natural energy of the sun for what it does need, as opposed to, say, a furnace. Instead, with natural hydro the process is clearly more environmentally friendly—a key point Armstrong and Motive Industries is making with the introduction of the Kestrel.
Armstrong adds that “The true cost of synthetic fibres isn’t known, as the whole industry is subsidized and based on huge economies of scale. To make fibreglass a massive furnace is needed and to make carbon fibre all sorts of nasty chemicals and acids are used—plus big furnaces.
Natural fibres = seed+water+sunlight.”
In the past, our auto industry’s steel dependence existed largely because it was thought to be the strongest mate-rial to use in vehicle production. Hemp bio-composite’s specific merits may well alter this traditional thinking. It has the impact resistance of fiberglass, but its bio-com-posite is cheaper to produce and presents fewer health risks for workers. Armstrong confirms this.
“It’s not stronger than steel—not even close. It is tougher though, and will not dent. We use the material selective-ly to provide strength where we need it and aluminum for the main chassis structure. Steel has the stranglehold because of volume. Parts are quick to make. Composite parts are a bit more of an artform and production is slow (at least by Detroit standards).”
For electric-car manufacture, steel’s not exactly light-weight. To make ultra-efficient vehicles (obviously a de-sired feature) hemp bio-composite fits the need. Plastics are based on oil, and we know the challenges faced there. Composite materials, such as carbon fibre, present chal-lenges both cost-wise and in terms of manufacturing and repair. Hemp solves these problems.
“First, you don’t want to get too light with a car. 2000 lbs is a good spot which works well for bio-composites. Through our research into very advanced materials (nano/crystalline/ceramics) we hope to increase the strength of natural fibres to the point at which they are truly com-petitive. Their advantage then will be low cost of entry and the ability to make advanced forms.”
It’s interesting to know from (e.g. a business start-up standpoint) that Alberta Innovates Technology Futures (AITF), under license from the Canadian government, is behind this move in a more forward-thinking direction. “The government supports many programs that get a technology to a prototype phase. Any industry group can access these technologies given maturity and cash.”
Most people don’t know this, but the hemp that is turned into a composite material is grown “all over Alberta, B.C., and Manitoba” Armstrong explains. Motive Industries, however, chooses to source from Vegreville, Alberta (near Edmonton).
According to Armstrong, the reason that hemp for auto manufacture hasn’t taken off in a bigger way, considering it has been legal since 1996, is “lack of industry interest and vision.”
The reason this innovation hasn’t formed the baseline for next year’s electric car body shells is because, as Arm-strong puts it, the “supply chain isn’t really in place— yet.”
That’s where we, the consumers, come in. It’s up to the people to make the demand for the supply chain. It’s obvious that the Kestrel will be influencing the future of electric-car building, but are there still stumbling blocks and wrongly-placed stigmas operating (a resistance to hemp use) preventing more companies from following
14 Hemp Lifestyle Magazine 03 Hemp Lifestyle Magazine 03 15
suit? That stigma must be busted wide-open—through education.
Motive Industries Inc. is still working with the original scientists from the project in the testing procedures, so there is a good degree of follow-through and safety consistency. The timeline for delivery of the 20 Kestrels is fast-approaching—said to be Q2-3 next year. When asked which Calgary-based energy distribution company is to be the lucky inventory holder, Armstrong answered “I can’t say directly, but they’re the only deregulated util-ity…”
The car will be available “in Canada initially, then other countries. We’re working on distribution models with a few groups.”
The burning question for many is: Is it possible to be add-ed to a wait-list? “Not yet,” says Armstrong. “We hope to put out a survey to generate public interest next year. You can fill out and help promote our existing survey though.” You got it.
Darren McKeage is the designer behind the car and you can read his vision for the car on the MII blog. It car-ries four passengers including driver, can speed up to 90 km/hr, and boasts a range is 40 to 160 kilometres before recharge is required. Depending on the type of battery, the better the battery the further the range. Battery technology is key to EV technology.
This article was first written for issue 27 of Cannabis Digest.
Ingredients:
75 g ground almonds75 g ground hempnuts30-40g honey (depending on the type - take more with hard honey, less with soft honey)3 tablespoons of rosewater or orangewater100 g dark chocolate
Mix all ingredients (apart from the chocolate) with a fork. Form little balls. Melt the choco-late in a bowl in a waterbath. Dip the little balls, lying on two forks, in the chocolate and let them cool down on baking paper.
Tip: Instead of dipping the balls in chocolate you could also cover them in cocoa or coconut flakes.
reCiPe
HempMarzipanby DanieL-Kruse
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16 Hemp Lifestyle Magazine 03 Hemp Lifestyle Magazine 03 17
The balance between Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids in hemp oil is ideal for the human body. It is 80% essential fatty acid, higher than any other plant known to man. Hemp seeds also con-tain Omega 9. It closely matches our own skin lipids. For this reason it is able to penetrate our cells and lubri-cate between them.
Because our inner cell walls are made up of these essential fatty acids and are highly negatively-charged, the high frequency hemp oil is beneficial in restoring and maintaining healthy cell function and preventing degen-erative diseases, such as cancer and heart disease.
Hemp oil is invaluable in preventing skin conditions such as acne, ecze-ma and psoriasis. It is also the only known plant to contain vitamin D, essential for vegans and for healthy skeletal formation. Hemp oil is known to promote healthier, stronger hair, nails and softer skin.
Hemp seed oil is a good source of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and as such rivals both flax seed and evening primrose oils. It equally rivals fish oils and does not contain toxins, such as mercury, often found in larger fish. The oil is also beneficial in soothing pre-menstrual tension.
Hemp seed oil contains natural vita-min E, Potassium and calcium, im-proving skin and bone health. The seeds are in fact, a perfect super food in that they contain a good balance of most of the things we need, without the unhealthy things, such as sugar, starches and saturated fats.
The oil also has anti-inflammatory properties, aiding healing. Hemp seed oil does not stick to the skin but rath-er is absorbed and is beneficial as a moisturiser, following sunburn.
more heaLth benefits
Hemp seeds are excellent for promot-ing weight loss, supplying increased and sustained energy and facilitating rapid recovery from injury and sick-ness. The phospholipids and phytos-terols are good for lowering choles-terol and blood pressure as well as improving circulation and immune
deficiency. They are also a natural way of controlling blood sugar levels.
The seeds are high in natural fibre, iron, zinc, carotene, vitamins B1, B2 and B6. In short, they are guilty of making us healthy and can be eaten by people who are unable to tolerate nuts, gluten, lactose or sugar. There are also no known allergies.
Is it any wonder the large pharmaceuti-cals don’t like hemp as a food? It pro-motes good health and lowers demand for drugs and special-ist treatments. Cancer alone was valued at over 1-trillion dollars last year and with more than 1 in 3 people contracting cancer dur-ing their lifetime this number is set to grow. Heart disease is supposed to be our greatest killer and obesity appears to be on the rise. The many degenerative diseases suffered by humans have been linked to our diet and hemp appears to be the per-fect way to mitigate the de-generating human race.
The hemp food farm is a hard pad-dock to hoe and many large weeds obstruct our path. It is time we told our leaders that we deserve better and we have a right to a food, which is not only healthy but also very tasty. It should be our choice and we have to let politicians know how we feel.
With the February 1 deadline passed and all submissions in, consideration as to whether commercially grown hemp can be used as food, within Australia and New Zealand, is under-way. This is not a new concept, some-thing that hippies dreamed up. Hemp has been used, as a food source, for thousands of years and in various places around the globe. Hemp, as a plant, is not new to Australia either and has a long history of supply, on a commercial basis, for fibre and oil.
When our European and Asian an-cestors used hemp fibre, for making clothing, ropes and sails, hemp seed for food, oil and even for medicine, it was not low THC as is grown today but as nature intended, hallucinatory properties and all. Hemp was used to induce relaxation, to cure stress and allow sleep. There are also many heal-ing properties and hemp was known to remove warts and even tumours on the skin.
In this enlightened age of equality and of downright common sense, it would appear logical to lift the draco-nian bans and make good use of such a valuable food and fibre source, not to mention its application for biofu-
els. Carbon tax is looming and manufacturers are seeking new ways to avoid penalties. It would seem also, with the national and state health budgets in disarray, we should be looking for clean-er, healthier foods to lower the burden on taxpayer funds.
Well, finally they are talking about it and it would appear the Food Safety Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) has been un-able to identify any public health and safety concerns associated with the consumption of hemp foods. They claim however,
“other issues associated with grant-ing permissions to sell hemp foods in Australia and New Zealand are being addressed”. It will be interesting to find out what they are.
Why is it taKing austraLia so Long to DeCiDe?
The UK and Europe are well advanced in hemp food production and thou-sands of new and sustainable jobs are being created monthly. Even in the US, where the prohibition of hemp first ensued, hemp is now used as food in many States.
In Australia, and particularly in Tas-mania, the forest industry does not want hemp fibre to compete with eu-calypt, which makes a mockery out of tackling climate change. Hemp is car-bon neutral and actually replaces soil carbon quickly and improves soil con-dition. Clear fell logging practices, on the other hand, are not. Tasmanian and Victorian forests hold 5-times the carbon per hectare of any other forest on Earth. Replacing those trees with plantation timber is no substi-tute for the carbon sinks lost either and they are not in the ground long
enough to be effective.
Hemp produces 4.1 times the amount of paper per hectare, over the same period and does not require tying up investment cash for decades. These facts have not been lost on the tim-ber industry lobbyists and the obvious advantages to farmers and manufac-turers alike are well known by them. For these reasons - which incidentally are the same reasons William Randolf Hearst fought against hemp in 1938 - strong impetus from the Australian forest industry and unions is making things difficult for politicians to stay objective.
Extractive industries, such as forestry and mining see hemp as a strong com-petitor and will do anything to protect their existing empires. It would ap-pear that hemp fibre is the real bone of contention and not food.
the benefits of hemP seeDs as a fooD
Hemp seeds contain high levels of pro-tein, and unlike soy protein, a much-touted substitute for meat, they com-prise the eight essential amino acids required for the human body to digest and use this protein; soy protein only has seven. Genetically modified soy has 9 and the last one is carcinogenic. This brings hemp in direct competi-tion with the meat and soy industries because the proteins are more digest-ible than any other protein, including that found in human milk.
The real issue however, may be due to hemp’s other properties. High lev-els of essential antioxidants are found in the plant’s seeds also and these are extremely good for us. A fact not missed by the pharmaceutical indus-try.
WiLL austraLia aLLoW hemP as a suPerfooD? by DaviD Leigh
researCh anD further reaDing:
http://www.earthlybody.com/hemp_seed_oil/5-Health-Benefits-Of-Hemp-Seed-Oil.htm
http://www.drbronner.com/pdf/hempnutrition.pdf
http://www.purehealingfoods.com/hempHeartsInfo.php
http://www.vitallywell.net/digestive-enzymes.html
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/enzymes.html
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/oil.htm
http://cancertutor.com/Articles/What_Causes_Cancer.html
18 Hemp Lifestyle Magazine 03 Hemp Lifestyle Magazine 03 19
i got involved with hemp because I was an assistant to the Dean of the Medical School at the University of Santo Tomas and I was suffering some health chal-lenges that led to panic and anxiety disorder. I got to the point where I was self-medicating to get to sleep and then realized one day that I was just overdoing it because nothing was putting me to sleep.
As a joke, somebody I worked with left me a note with the name of a doctor who would give me a medical marijuana prescription. I grew up as a Re-publican and was very anti the drug movement so I felt uneasy about the suggestion but I’d reached the
point of desperation so decided I should at least do some research.
I came across Jack Herer’s book and read it from cov-er to cover – there was all of this information that I hadn’t even heard a hint of before. I remember say-ing to my husband, “I don’t understand why this in-formation isn’t common knowledge, but you know what, I’m going to do something about this. I’m go-ing to make clothing out of hemp and put Jack’s in-formation inside the clothing-line.”
I emailed Jack with my proposal and to ask if I could have the copyrights to his books so that I can publish pieces on the inside of my clothing. To my surprise Jack responded the very next day giving me the OK. I met Jack a while later to sort out the legal documen-tation, and the weirdest thing was that when I met him for the first time I felt like I had known him for my whole life.
I’ve never had a hero but after I had read the book I really had a high regard for Jack and the incredible amount of knowledge he had. He was a true activ-ist (this was a time before the internet as we know it now) and yet he drew attention to the cause by get-ting out there and making things happen.
My passion comes from the fact that there is a so-lution to the challenges we are facing in the US and across the world; the housing shortages, job losses, and food shortages, and that solution is hemp. From the talks that I give I’ve realized that people love learn-ing about hemp. The moment people hear about the history of hemp, especially the deep American history of hemp, I see their faces light up - the information is so exciting! Many people are clueless of what you can do with hemp and when you start talking about it, it really impacts people on a personal level.
I chose not to use the hemp leaf as a logo for my cloth-ing line because when many people see the hemp leaf they automatically think marijuana so it’s important to not give people an image that closes their minds before the conversation has even started. That drug connection is very strong for a lot of people and it is a very emotive topic so I tend to focus on the benefits of hemp and the many uses for just one plant.
i use 95% hemp in all of the clothing i design, be-cause my whole intention is to stay true to hemp and I don’t plan to deviate from that. Every item is super soft, which often surprises people when they feel it
for the first time. I get my yarn shipped from China and it gets knitted here in LA. The Chinese are by far the best hemp textile producers mainly because they never stopped working with hemp. Even if the US do end up legalizing hemp in the near future, I think it’s going to take the industry a while to be able to get up to par with the Chinese producers.
In the mainstream world, if you think jeans, you think Levis, if you think t-shirts, you think American Ap-parel, there are certain brands you automatically as-sociate with certain items of clothing. But when you think of hemp clothing, who do you think of? My goal with Think Substance is to be the American Ap-parel of hemp.
It comes down to designing fashionable clothing that doesn’t shout out that the wearer is a hemp activ-ist. I remember when I used to go to various hemp events with Jack, I used to joke that ‘Just because we are hemp activists, we don’t have to all dress like Rastafarians!’ What was great was that wherever we went, the response I got was great – everyone loved the clothes and wanted what I was wearing. I see the problem as being there aren’t a lot of alternatives which is something I want to address.
Saving the planet one hemp t-Shirt at a time by LinDa Werner
20 Hemp Lifestyle Magazine 03
the next issue of hemp lifestyle magazine
is due out on the 1st April 2012.I hope you’ve enjoyed this issue of Hemp Lifestyle magazine. If you have, spread the love! Simply ‘LIKE’ our new facebook page.
Here’s a sneak peak of what you can expect:
the first hemPCrete house in austraLiaIt hasn’t been an easy ride but Australia’s first hempcrete house is getting closer to completion.
groWing a test CroP of hemP on a 1/4 aCre PLotAn innovative approach to growing hemp on the small scale.
the nobis - environmentaL refugeesThe earthquake and subsequent radioactive fallout that hit Japan in 2011 led to hempsters Emi Kashiwara and her partner MP of the band The Nobis finding a new home in the US.
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Have a wonderful month
Dionne Payn
