MJBizMag April 2021 - 12

HempNotebook | Kristen Nichols
Is Hemp As Green as We Think It Is?
Hemp evangelists face a tough challenge in the climate battle: responsibility
for the supply chain
H
emp sequesters carbon, presents
low water and nutrient needs
and is so versatile that many in
the business have stopped counting
the number of uses for the plant's
components.
This is all great news, right?
So imagine my surprise when a
prominent figure in the sustainability
space gave a lackluster assessment
of hemp as a climate solution at a
university symposium.
Asked whether hemp could stop
climate change, Ross Macfarlane, vice
president of the Sierra Club, called the
answer " a big 'it depends.' "
Excuse me? This from a global
thought leader on energy and a
top executive at the Clean Energy
Transition Institute?
Not What, But How
After I recovered from my shock, I
realized Macfarlane has important-if
challenging-points for everyone in the
hemp supply chain.
No single plant is going to save us
from an urgent need to reduce carbon
emissions. Hemp might famously
gobble up to 10 tons of carbon dioxide
per acre, but that's not enough to roll
back climate change.
We could plant hemp as far and
wide as Jack Herer ever dreamed, but
hemp alone can't save us. And that's
assuming it's grown sustainably.
Macfarlane pointed out that
hemp's overall carbon footprint varies
tremendously based on how it's grown.
Consider:
* Not all varieties of hemp
metabolize carbon dioxide at
the same rates, and some of the
best carbon-gobbling cultivars
might not be the most profitable
(though research in this area is
sorely lacking).
* The inputs needed to grow hemp
must be accounted for when
considering its climate impacts.
While no plant needs fertilizer or
pesticides to grow, simply growing
a plant and growing it for profit are
two different things. All too often,
farmers turn to chemical inputs
to improve yields and per-acre
returns. And growing organically
doesn't solve everything: Even the
most earth-friendly inputs require
transportation to the farm, which
comes with carbon costs.
* Where are commercial hemp
plants getting water? If irrigation is
not just from rainfall, where would
that water otherwise be used?
What Is Hemp Replacing?
Another eye-opener for me was to
consider what hemp is replacing. I
don't mean hemp as an end product,
where it can replace plastics and all
sorts of things. The industry should
also consider hemp as a crop-and
what was in the ground before hemp
was growing there.
Macfarlane pointed out that if hemp
acreage is replacing natural grassland
or forest, that's not a net gain for
the planet.
Even if hemp is being cultivated on
land formerly growing other food
crops, that hemp plot could be
displacing food production onto
other land-possibly contributing to
local food insecurity.
And what about indigenous
farmers who might have formerly
worked that land? Is there any
12 Marijuana Business Magazine | April 2021
thought given to sharing profits with
displaced communities?
The Good News
There's still much to celebrate about
hemp's potential to help heal the
planet. It can and should be a star
player in global plans to find natural
climate solutions. But as we celebrate
hemp's potential this Earth Day, I want
to point out how Macfarlane concluded
his talk to hemp producers about the
plant's ability to fight climate change.
" Don't buy into the hype. Let's earn it
and prove it. "
Wise words.
Kristen Nichols is editor of
Hemp Industry Daily. She can
be reached at kristen.nichols@
hempindustrydaily.com.
MJBizMag April 2021

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