Hemp has been around for centuries and is adaptable to all kinds of uses, so why aren't we all using it, asks Sarah Marriott.
To win €100,000, prove that hemp cannot reverse the greenhouse effect; that it cannot supply the world with paper, food, textiles and construction material; and also provide energy for the home, transport and industry. That's the challenge from a hemp company in the Netherlands - but it's not only Dutch hemp fans who believe the "wonder weed" could solve the problems of the planet.
"Hemp is the master key to sustainability," says Joseph Glynn, who is involved with the Hemp Company in Dublin. "They used to say hemp has 25,000 uses but now that figure's gone up to 50,000. Anything that can be made from petrochemicals or wood can be made from hemp. The advantage of hemp is that it's organic, renewable, biodegradable and doesn't acidify the soil." Industrial hemp - which shouldn't be confused with the drug cannabis - contains so little THC (the psychoactive component of marijuana) that smoking it to get high would be like drinking non-alcoholic beer to get drunk.
Believers in the future of hemp are almost evangelical in their enthusiasm. Advocates say the plant can replace petrol in our engines, oil in our central heating, fibreglass in our cars, cotton in our clothes and concrete in our houses. You can use it to make medicine, paper, rope, plastics and packaging; you can wash your hair in it and even eat the stuff.
Few voices are raised in opposition to all this - but if it's so wonderful, why do we use petrochemical-based products and wood instead? The answer lies with the US industrial giants of the 1930s, apparently. One hundred years ago, the use of hemp was declining because of a lack of mechanisation necessary for mass production, says Jack Herer, hemp activist and author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes. "In the 1930s, when the new machines became state-of-the-art, available and affordable, the Hearst Paper Manufacturing Division, Kimberly Clarke and virtually every other timber, paper and newspaper company stood to lose billions of dollars," he says.
Hearst used his newspapers to change the image of hemp and to demonise it as marijuana. "For example, a story of a car accident in which a 'marijuana cigarette' was found would dominate the headlines for weeks, while alcohol-related car incidents only made the back pages," says Herer. In 1937, a US tax made the plant prohibitively expensive.
Hemp was successfully grown in Ireland in the 18th century but this is now one of the only EU countries where it is tightly controlled. EU regulations state that varieties of industrial hemp must contain less than 0.3 per cent THC but in the Republic Cannabis sativa (hemp) is classed as a controlled drug under the misuse of drugs regulations. Growers can apply to the Department of Health and Children to plant selected varieties, but have to meet certain conditions - crops must be two fields away from a road, for example. This year, three farmers are licensed to grow it in the Republic.
Irish farmers and manufacturers could be missing out on a multi-million euro industry. In Germany, hemp is used to make eco-friendly paints, detergents, foods, body-care products, paper and textiles; in China the hemp-linen industry is worth more than €1 billion; while farmers in Hungary, Romania and Poland are producing hemp which is turned into rope, textiles and building materials.
"The demonisation of hemp as a drug has damaged the environment and denied us all the ecological, industrial and recycling benefits," says Glynn.
The range of industries using hemp in their products is wide and growing.
Farming: Teagasc's trials of industrial hemp were successful and "a farmer's experience of growing annual tillage crops could easily be applied to hemp", concluded the Farmer's Journal in 2001. "Hemp is perfect for small farmers, because it has a myriad of uses," says Glynn. "Nothing is wasted: the stem can be used for building materials or animal bedding, the seeds for food, the leaves for compost and the whole plant for biomass fuel. And it is an ideal rotation crop." The problem for Irish farmers, according to Teagasc and hemp pioneers, is the lack of a processing plant in this country. Environmentalist Marcus McCabe from Co Monaghan, who believes a field of hemp could be worth €10,000, recently bought a used processor from Wales and hopes that farmers will be able to obtain licences to grow the crop. However, some activists argue that the Government should step in to kick-start this embryonic industry.
Construction: "Hemp building is the future," says Marcus McCabe, whose office with hemp/lime walls was built by Old Builders from Co Offaly. The hemp construction industry might be in its infancy here but it's well developed in France, which boasts a 900-year-old bridge made with hemp mortar.
Hemp can be used instead of concrete in walls and instead of fibreglass in insulation and will revolutionise the way people build houses, says Steve Allin, an environmental design consultant based in Kerry. "It's a way of building ecologically and as cheap - if not cheaper - than conventional houses." Most modern construction methods and materials produce a lot of carbon dioxide, but hemp, timber and lime reduce CO2 levels.
"Building with hemp is incredibly easy," says Tom Woolley, professor of architecture at Queen's University Belfast. "People are attracted to it because it's environmentally friendly and energy efficient. Lots of people want to build with it; the problem is that it's too early yet. We need the proper certification to keep the mortgage lenders happy - and insurance companies think it's barmy." Another problem in developing a hemp construction industry is vested interests, believes Woolley: "People in concrete, plastics and fibreglass know this is a big threat." He has applied for an Agrément Certificate, which will endorse hemp as a bona fide building material.
Fuel: Hemp is an energy crop: it produces more biomass than any other plant and can be used as domestic fuel. Hemp oil can be used to make ethanol bio-diesel for our vehicles.
Food: Hemp can make you happy - because it is high in omega-3 and omega-6, which help to combat depression. It also contains GLA, the active component in evening primrose oil, and eight essential amino acids. Small clinical trials in Finland found hempseed oil relieved eczema and helped to fight flu. Food made from hemp includes pasta, pesto, oil, bread, biscuits and a dairy-free ice-cream.
Textiles: We've been wearing hemp for a long time. A scrap of hemp cloth estimated to be 8,000 years old was found in Turkey, the original Levi jeans were made of hempen cloth and now Armani, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein all feature it in their collections. Hemp is the world's longest, strongest natural fibre and is much more eco-friendly than cotton.
Cars: Henry Ford made a 70 per cent hemp car in the 1930s; the body was stronger than steel. Now Mercedes-Benz uses hemp in car interiors and it is also used to make snowboards.
Animal bedding: Said to be more comfortable than straw and free of fungal spores which can cause respiratory conditions in horses.
Paper: The Gutenberg bible, the American Declaration of Independence and the Magna Carta were written on hemp paper. Unlike wood pulp paper, hemp paper doesn't use chlorines and bleaches and a field of hemp produces four times more paper than a field of trees.
Packaging: Biodegradable hemp was used for cellophane packaging until it was made illegal in the US. Hemp plastic is being used to make CD cases.
Cosmetics: Organic hemp is found in shampoos, soaps and skin creams. The Body Shop, which uses French hempseed oil in cosmetic products, spends more than £60,000 a year on hempseed.
Hempful facts: from clothes to building
Hemp clothes, oils, seeds, teas and cosmetics are available from the Hemp Company, 167 Capel Street, Dublin 1 and Hemp Cottage, Caherciveen, Co Kerry (www.hempcottage.com from October).
Cultivate in Temple Bar also sells hemp clothes.
A demonstration of building with lime/hemp/daub on takes place on September 18th at the Living Architecture Centre, Leitrim village, Co Leitrim. Details: www.thegreenfestival.com/www.livingarchitecturecentre.com/
Tel: 071 962 3301
Animal bedding: 01-8745831
Hemp building: www.oldbuilders.com
Hemp challenge: www.hempflax.com and www.jackherer.com