Hemp

Hemp Lovers Cause for Concern | Dry Weather Crisis in Western Canada

Organic Canadian hemp farmers are busy preparing to harvest their hemp crops right now. Nutiva is counting on a decent harvest to supply our delicious certifed-organic hemp seed, hemp oil, and hemp protein powders.
As many folks know, the funny weather this year caused most crop plantings in June 2010 to be delayed from 10-30 days in western Canada. Thus our hemp crops are 10+ days late. The good news was that in general  the weather in August  was for the most part   pretty warm with  decent rain  the provinces of Alberta, SK, and Manitoba. So hemp’s tall branch’s grew fast and seeds are becoming ripe for harvest.

Now we just need some warm conditions to get the last growth spurt, combined with dry weather so the harvesting equipment can get into the fields. And no frost to hurt the crops. May the weather god’s smile on the hemp harvest. And our hard working hemp farmers be rewarded for growing this amazing super food.

Note: many hemp foods sold are not certified-organic.
Did you know that organic hemp farming use rotations with plants to fix nitrogen into the soil ? Much healthier for the soil and all critters that we live with.  Most non-organic hemp farmers order their fertilizer from chemical dealers, and when applied into the soil cause runoff in lakes and streams. The gulf of Mexico has a huge dead-zone over 50 miles wide caused by these same non-organic chemical fertilizers. So when choosing hemp foods, look for the USDA Organic Symbol and choose an ethical brand which is focused on organics.
As they say- don’t panic go organic ! [click to continue…]

Used Plastic + Hemp = Lumber

UNCC researchers create a formula for recycling old bottles into new building materials

By Amber Veverka
Special Correspondent

A UNC Charlotte researcher with a passion for sustainability is creating a new building material out of recycled plastic bottles and an ancient grass.

Dr. Na Lu, an assistant professor at UNCC’s Department of Engineering Technology, has created a material she believes may outperform composite lumber and wood lumber in many uses, and which has potential to be used in the residential and light commercial building industry.

In her lab at UNCC, Luna, as she prefers to be called, holds a dog bone-shaped sample of her creation: a beige plastic woven with threads of what looks like horsehair. “Hemp,” Luna says, and points to a fluffy pile of the fibers on the table.

Unlike much present-day composite lumber, Luna’s product substitutes hemp fibers for more typical chipped wood often mixed with virgin plastic. And unlike pressure-treated wood, the hemp material contains no toxic heavy metals.

Wood fiber is structured like a bundle of straws, she said, but hemp’s crystalline structure gives it greater mechanical strength. She demonstrates by holding out a handful of hemp fibers to pull.

“This (hemp composite) material performs up to 4,000 to 6,000 psi (pounds per square inch),” Luna said. “That’s as strong as medium-strength concrete.”

At the same time, the hemp-recycled plastic material is lighter than regular composite lumber, she said.

Hemp may be a promising building material, but the stuff Luna uses isn’t going to get anyone arrested. It’s industrial hemp, with an extremely low content of THC, the psychoactive substance for which marijuana is known.

Hemp is just one key to the new material; the other is recycled plastic bottles. In the United States, about 20 billion plastic bottles are used annually, and just 18 percent of those get recycled, Luna said. “The niche of what we do here is … we used HDPE recycled plastic, as opposed to resin epoxy,” she said.

Where things get wet

Unlike regular lumber, the experimental material is moisture- and insect-resistant, and hemp grows a lot faster than wood. Hemp fiber polymers are being used in the automotive industry in Europe for car interiors, Luna said, but she sees a future for the material in buildings, particularly in places where wood rot is a problem.

“The first application I really would like to see is any point where there is water contact in a civil application – a retaining wall, decking, bridges,” she said.

While it would cost more to produce the material today than it does to produce wood lumber, the life cycle cost would be cheaper and, over time, with a greater scale of production, she believes the cost to the consumer would fall.

For Luna, an interest in accomplishing conventional goals through unconventional means came early. Born in China, she said she saw firsthand the difficulty of a heavily populated nation struggling with high energy costs. After moving to the States, Luna earned her doctorate from Clemson University. In the process, she worked with a professor in Arizona in constructing a school from straw bales coated with cement. [click to continue…]

Uses and Benefits of Coconut Oil | Interview with Nutiva founder and CEO

Naturals Moms Podcast Featuring Nutiva CEO John W Roulac. Learn more about why coconut oil fell out of favor, and how people are using coconut oil. Roulac discus’s why hemp is a nutritious seed, and why we need to avoid corn and soy oil for our personal health.

Click HERE to go to the audio

Veggie Hemp Chili

Ingredients:
2 tsp coconut oil
¾ onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups canned peeled tomatoes, chopped, with juice
1 C hemp hearts (shelled hemp seed)
1/3 C of water
3 Tbsp chili powder, more if desired
2 tsp molasses
¾ tsp cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp black pepper
1½ C canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1½ C canned black beans
1 jalapeno pepper (optional), diced

Directions:
Heat oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until softened. Stir in next 8 ingredients and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to medium low and simmer 15 minutes. Add beans and simmer another 20-30 minutes, adding water if chili becomes too thick. Stir jalapeno pepper into chili just before serving.

Make enough for 6
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 45 mi

Red Pepper and Hemp Soup

Ingredients:
2 extra large (or 3 regular) red peppers, seeded and roughly chopped
½ C hemp seeds
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp curry powder
¼ tsp turmeric
1 tsp Braggs liquid aminos
Black pepper to taste
2/3 C water (or to taste – this will depend on how thick or thin you like your soup)

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. You may want to begin with ½ cup water and adjust based on texture as you go along.

Making Nutiva Hemp Milk (Video)

How would you like to make delicious and fresh organic hemp milk ?

Yes sure, you can buy hemp milk in aseptic cartons, and that’s great, but certainly not as fresh as making your own hemp milk in your kitchen.

Here is a fun YouTube video for making hemp milk using a juicer.

Here is another tried and true hemp milk recipe with a blender. (CLICK HERE.)

Hemp seed contains 33% protein and is rich in the good fats Omega-3 and GLA. Plus hemp is an excellent source of zinc, iron, and magnesium.

At Nutiva, we import our organic hemp seed from Canada as the US federal government does allow American farmers to grow hemp. Is it because hemp is too healthy and sustainable for the high and mighty sitting in washington DC ?

Or does hemp pose a threat to vested commercial interests ? Or are recent DEA official statements to be believed, that growing hemp sends the wrong message to the youth of America ?

Dear readers give us some comments on this. After lobbying and educating for 10+ years we have to think that logic and reason is not well thought of in the halls of power at the White House or Congress.

We look forward to your feedback!

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