How hemp travels from seed to shelf
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In addition to brown sugar, gluten-free oats and dried cranberries, these easy-to-make granola bars are made from 50 percent hemp seeds.
Manitoba Harvest partners with Canadian farmers to grow more than 50,000 acres of hemp per year. Because of the hardy nature of hemp, no pesticides or herbicides are used during the growing process. "If you can get it off to a good start, you can alleviate the need for that kind of stuff," says Manitoba Harvest's lead agronomist. Most varieties take 120 days to mature, and after plants reach a foot or so, in optimal conditions they can grow as much as 3 to 5 centimeters per day.
Not just for sprinkling on cereal, here hemp seeds add a nutty crunch when incorporated into vegetarian sushi.
As evidenced by CEO Mike Fata's license plate, it's safe to say that passion runs deep at Manitoba Harvest.
In April 2014, Manitoba Harvest brought in brand new manufacturing equipment. Thanks to stringent standards, Manitoba Harvest has received a Grade A in food safety and quality from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), a leading global certification program.
After the hemp has been packaged, the product isXx-rayed for color variations—reducing the likelihood that a foreign seed (such as a flax seed) could sneak its way into bags. If color variation is detected, the bag is rejected, and Manitoba Harvest reviews the supply chain.
Here, Manitoba Harvest's agronomist demonstrates how male plants differ from female plants—which contain considerably more leaves. Pollen is easily released from males via the wind, so bees and other insects are not required to fertilize the female plants.
After hemp seeds are cold-pressed into hemp oil, you have a high-protein, fiber-rich pulp left over. Manitoba Harvest uses this pulp for its protein powders, which can be added to smoothies or baked goods.
Hemp plants are incredibly sturdy. Case in point, CEO Mike Fata explains that following a particularly violent windstorm one season, he received a call from one of his farmers: the hemp crop was flattened on the ground, and broken in half. Two days later, Fata received word that the plants had stood back up, forming a "knuckle" where the stalk was broken. Here, you see the strength of hemp fibers, which are suitable for rope, clothing and more. When mixed with cement, hemp can be used for building materials—it strengthens the cement while lightening it.
Manitoba Harvest controls every aspect of product manufacturing because the company is vertically integrated. The corporate offices are located next to the manufacturing facility, along with an in-house quality-control lab that tests hemp for contaminants.
Plants are typically planted in June, when the soil is warm, and are harvested in early October. Male and female plants grow side-by-side in the same field—the males appear long and thin, and the females (depicted here) are bushy. Plants average 4 to 5 feet tall, but some varieties can reach 10 feet. Despite hemp's telltale appearance, the varieties grown for food consumption contain virtually zero THC. In other words, even if you ate a whole pallet of hemp seeds, you wouldn't get high.
Plants are typically planted in June, when the soil is warm, and are harvested in early October. Male and female plants grow side-by-side in the same field—the males appear long and thin, and the females (depicted here) are bushy. Plants average 4 to 5 feet tall, but some varieties can reach 10 feet. Despite hemp's telltale appearance, the varieties grown for food consumption contain virtually zero THC. In other words, even if you ate a whole pallet of hemp seeds, you wouldn't get high.
Despite its growing popularity, hemp is not exactly legal to grow in the United States. Though organizations like Hemp History Week and progressive companies (Dr. Bronner's is a huge advocate) lobby for hemp legality, the 2014 Farm Bill still maintains that industrial hemp (i.e. containing less than 0.3 percent THC) can only be "grown or cultivated for purposes of research conducted under an agricultural pilot program or other agricultural or academic research."
Based in Winnipeg, the co-founders of Manitoba Harvest played instrumental roles in advocating Canadian industrial hemp legalization in 1998. Now celebrating its 16th year, I traveled to Winnipeg to see the company's sterling hemp production practices in action.
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