I am going to address this strictly as hemp used for making things like paper and building supplies and not addressing the medical uses of hemp.
First, we must discuss how hemp is identified. Most of these call for "industrialized hemp" production. So, we need to get to the bottom of what industrialized crops are.
Industrial farming also called intensive farming is a very damaging process. As defined, industrial crops mean the following:
*Monocropping - growing only one crop without rotation on large farms
*Intensive application of fertilizer - due to the overuse of the soil by the same plant type (even more of a concern since fast growing plants, like hemp, diminish soil nutrients faster than other plants)
*Use of pesticides (we'll discuss this in the text below)
*Reliance on Genetically Engineered Seeds
*Intensive irrigation
* Mechanized farming practices.
*** I suggest reading more here about how the above are defined and their impacts: About Industrialized crops
Lets tackle Genetic engineering first:
Hemp that is proposed to be grown for materials and foods, such as hemp seeds and oil, has been genetically modified to reduce the THC content to near zero and to provide better resistance to disease. In its natural state, the THC and other canaboids are what make the hemp plant resilient but this is not as true for the modified plant. There are also concerns about the pollen spreading and so many countries which grow hemp have distance requirements between farms Can Read more here about pollen spreading. Here you can read about the genetic modification of the Finola cultivar Fin-314 which is the most commonly grown variety.
Fertilizer requirements for hemp:
Because hemp is a fast growing plant it requires liberal use of fertilizers to reach maximum production. These fertilizers consist of mostly phosphates and potassium at rates similar to those required by industrialized wheat. The big concern is runoff and Eutrophication. This occurs regardless of how the fertilizer is sourced or produced. Eutrophication is an increase in dissolved nutrients in the water. This leads to algae blooms and eventual deoxygenation of the water system.
Water Requirements of Hemp:
Oregon University reported that hemp is very susceptible to drought or drought-like conditions and required irrigation.
Pesticide and Herbicide requirements:
While there are claims that hemp is resistant to disease and pests this is not true. It is tolerant which means the plant will not die but the damage can cause the product to be unuseable for production. Hemp seems to be particularly susceptible to fungus infections which occur even more often in damp or wet conditions. With the high requirement for water these fungus have been problematic in the EU and other areas where industrial hemp is grown for products. "estimates that 13 percent of fiber crops are lost to insects, 11 percent are lost to diseases, and 7 percent are lost to weeds and other organisms." (From the Oregon Research) Hemp production will require fungicides and insecticides to be grown as a large scale product.
Hemp is a carbon sink.
What does it mean to be a carbon sink?
This means that something is taking carbon out of the soil or atmosphere and storing, sequestering it. This is currently important because of climate change and Carbon emissions concerns. Carbon sinks can be short term or long term. For example, growing annual plants is a short term use of carbon. The plant grows removing carbon from the air. That plant is storing the carbon in its tissues but once the plant dies and decays that stored carbon is returned to the environment. Long term sinks include things like trees and other animal activities that hold the carbon for significant amounts of time. The ocean is also a carbon sink though too much carbon can change the water pH.
So is hemp a carbon sink?
Only in the short term. If it is used as a biofuel it is only stored until that fuel is burned. If it is a food, it is only stored until you use the restroom and return that carbon to a state it will decay. The same is true for any other material. The hemp is only storing the carbon as long as the product is in use and not decaying.
Additional considerations....
We must have a place to grow this hemp which will mean clearing more land to be farmed.
Is this model better than the sustainable forest and logging practices already used?
Read the basics of sustainable foresting and logging here and Here
What is required to process hemp plants into useable products? Some processes include large amounts of water for soaking, bleaching and other preproduction processes. It is important to check out the full life cycle analysis for inputs and outputs through the process of producing hemp products. Some examples of these analyses are here and Here. There are many more of these assessments to be found.
So what do I think?
In theory, I have no issue with hemp as a plant to be grown however, the growing methods and the impacts those methods have on the environment are not acceptable in my personal opinion. Until better practices are put into place I cannot support the practice of growing hemp.
Read more here:
More about industrialized farming impacts
Comparative information about farming practices
Study on requirements for hemp production
Oregon State Report on requirements for Hemp Production
Reasearch into Phosphate Fertilizer application
Information on Eutrophication and other fertilizer impacts
Abough Sclerotinia Infection (a fungus that affects hemp and other plants)
List of pests and diseases that effects hemp.
Ontario Life Cycle Analysis and information
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