The botanical name for industrial hemp is Cannabis sativa L (“sativa” means simply “that which is cultivated” and the “L” refers to Carl Linnaeus who gave this plant its scientific classification).

The cannabis plant has been used by humans for food, fibre, medicine and animal fodder for thousands of years. In the early part of the 19th century hemp was the world’s most widely cultivated crop when demand for sails, cordage and hemp textiles was widespread. The term “canvas” is derived from “cannabis”.

Different varieties of cannabis contain variable amounts of chemical compounds called cannabidiods. One of these compounds is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which can have psychoactive effects resulting in the ‘high’ commonly associated with marijuana. Another compound increasingly used for therapeutic purposes is cannabidiol (CBD).

Industrial hemp is defined as a plant that has been specifically bred to have LOW THC levels in the leaves and flowering heads so it has no drug value or effect and can be safely consumed as food. In Australia, industrial hemp is cannabis with less than 1% THC. In other regions like Europe and the USA, the limit is 0.3%.

Industrial hemp was spun into fibre over 10,000 years ago and today is grown for an expanding range of industrial and commercial uses. These include fabrics, clothing, ropes, shoes, food, paper, bioplastics, insulation, oils, cosmetics, dietary supplements, food products, animal bedding, garden mulch, etc.

The range and volume of these applications are expected to increase, thereby contributing to the growth of the global industrial hemp market while contributing to a sustainable and recyclable economy.

On 28 April 2017, the Australia New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation (Forum) approved a proposal to amend the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to permit low-THC hemp seed to be sold as food.

Leaves, flowering heads and other parts of the low-THC hemp plant must NOT be sold as food for human consumption.

The changes to the Food Standards Code commenced on 11 November 2017.

Further information can be found on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand web page.

The United Nations conference (December 2022) on trade and development reports that hemp:

• requires significantly less water than growing cotton,
• absorbs more carbon dioxide per hectare than other crops and most trees,
• can grow in a wide variety of climates in most parts of the world,
• can be planted on land not suitable for other crops,
• helps to replenish the soil by removing heavy metals and other contaminants,
• is beneficial when included in crop rotation: eg hemp cultivation leads to a 10% to 20% increase in wheat yields,
• reduces waste as all parts of the plant – roots, flowers, fruit, stems and leaves – can be used. Other crops produce discarded parts which can have a huge ecological footprint. For example, in Africa, 80% or more of the cotton plant’s total mass is burned or discarded, contributing to heavy pollution. Similarly in India, burning harvest leftovers contribute to about half of Delhi’s deadly pollution, and
• has financial potential: the global market could hit $18.6 billion by 2027 – almost four times the amount in 2020.

Other sources note anti-microbial properties, resistance to UV, mould, mildew and rot. It can also be beneficial in terms of biodiversity as bees love it.

The plant consists of flower, seed, stalk, leaves and a tap root.

The flowers, seed and roots can be used for food, flour, oils, and extracts.

The stem of the hemp plant is made up of two components:

• the outer bark, or ‘bast’, which contains the long fibres used for textiles, rope, packaging, paper and food fibre, and
• the inner ‘hurd’, (the woody core of the plant with much shorter fibres) used in building products, insulation, biofuels and mulch.
  
  

About 40 countries produced some 275,000 tonnes of raw or semi-processed industrial hemp in 2019, according to the latest available statistics. But just four countries account for more than half of global output. China grows the most, followed by France, Canada and the United States.

China intends to plant 3.2 million hectares of hemp fiber by 2030 with the aim of replacing cotton with a more sustainable alternative for textiles.

Hemp cultivation in Australia peaked at 2,500ha in 2021 with more than half grown in Tasmania. An oversupply of hemp seed and competition from imported products especially from China led to a subsequent reduction in hectares under cultivation.

With a growing interest and investment in processing for fibre and hurd hemp cultivation is expected to increase significantly in coming years.