For Mother Earth 2

Hemp. The word makes me think of rope and bead bracelets. The words Declaration of Independence and American Flag usually do not bounce off the back of my mind but the true history of this ancient fiber might surprise you.

“Hemp is the oldest known fiber used by man on earth,” said hemp fiber expert Sanford Pass, who owns For Mother Earth #2 in Hardy with his wife, Page.

“In northern Europe, archaeologists

have found pieces of hemp fiber woven together that are 10,000 years old.”

“Historic records show that in the Middle East, whole cultures of people have used hemp for food, fuel, fiber and medicine. Without the hemp plants, they couldn’t survive,” Sanford said.

In the old world, hemp was everything including marine cordage, fiber for sails, rigging, clothes, household twine, tools for farming and more.

The term “The Grim Reaper” is directly related to the harvesting of hemp. When a country would go to war, they would grow vast amounts of extra hemp to support the ships and troops. When the fields would be harvested, they called the man swinging the long sickle, “The Grim Reaper,” because people knew death would follow.

“Going forward in the middle ages, the stuff we know as gruel, which was basically what kept the Europeans alive, was boiled hemp seed and whatever

flavoring, fruit or vegetable they could afford to put in it,” Sanford said. “But the basic ingredient was boiled hemp seeds during these times.”

Hemp as an industrial material, like cotton or nylon, was used heavily in the development of America as a sovereign

nation. “In the War of 1812, with the USS Constitution, everything was hemp on that vessel except for the wood and the guns. Sails, uniforms, bibles, riggings,

flags, maps, pendants, everything.

Hemp doesn’t rot or mildew. Our Founding Fathers used hemp a lot also. Thomas Jefferson grew hemp and so did George Washington,” Sanford

said.

“The first Declaration of Independence

draft was written on hemp paper and the first American flag was made from hemp.”

In an electrifying fact, Sanford said that the cord that Ben Franklin used for his kite string was also made from hemp.

This fantastic fiber even saved the life of our 41th president, George Bush I. While on a mission in WWII, his plane was shot down and he had to make a parachute jump.

“Clinging on for dear life to his parachute, which was held together by hemp webbing,” Sanford said.

“Then the rope he was pulled from the ocean with was made from hemp,” he said laughing.

After WWII, the industrial material trade changed and hemp was used less and less.

“In the 1930’s, a man made machine was able to process the pulp from the hemp stock to make paper. Fine grade paper using hemp stock, cotton, and recycled material made a product finer than wood paper. This was a big ordeal,” Sanford said.

Sanford said that the paper industry got very nervous at the thought of a fine paper material that is renewable year after year. The problem was the paper industry used trees that have grown for decades and take decades to return; now a new resource threatened their viability.

“It would take the paper industry a half century to do what this machine and hemp could do in four months,” he said.

Big Paper must have had a better marketing machine then hemp paper, because 99% of our paper is currently dried wood pulp and chemicals.

Hemp had another opportunity to succeed in the industrial market with Henry Ford.

“Henry Ford and Rudolph Diesel build a car body made out of hemp fiberglass, made with soy plastic and fortified with hemp,” Sanford said.

“The only reason this didn’t take off was because

Andrew Carnegie was the major steel guy. He wanted cars to be made of his steel,” Sanford

said.

“Rudolph Diesel’s first engine was a biodiesel engine and was designed to run on hemp fuel. But when Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller (Oil Tycoon) saw this, they went ‘cha-ching’, and said you’re not going to use vegetable fuel or vegetable

plastic but instead you’re going to use steel and gas,” Sanford said.

So, the world’s most versatile, renewable, and environmentally friendly material fell to the wayside

in the wake of big business.

“So, between William Randolph and his paper, Carnegie and Rockefeller because of their steel and gas, and DuPont because of his nylon, all these industrialist

had to demonize hemp in order to roll out their product, because hemp could do everything their products could do but better, faster, cheaper, smarter and environmentally

sound,” Sanford said.

While hemp is not grown in the states, across the world it is providing jobs and strength for local and national economies.

“China is making billions of dollars. They have some of the best hemp in the world because they have been doing textiles forever. They go back to the beginning of reported history, they were textile specialists,” Sanford said.

Believe it or not, hemp seeds are a cornucopia of valuable nutrients.

“Seed and seed oil is where the food is derived. Hemp seed oil is protein and fatty acids. Hemp seed oil is the best oil on Earth for human consumption.

A two ounce serving of roasted, salted hemp seeds contains 13 grams of protein and all of the essential fatty acids you need for healthy hearts and skin,” he said.

Sanford truly believes in the value of this multifaceted

fiber and this is reflected in the wears he peddles from his eclectic shop in downtown Hardy. He has everything from tasty hemp pretzels to stylish hemp clothing.

Some might debate hemp’s economic swaying power, but no one can debate its power to make a good pretzel or the historic significance of this very versatile fiber.

For more information contact Sanford or Page at 870-856-HEMP