06 How about soy? Is hemp competitive as a world source of protein?
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This article is from the Hemp / Cannabis / Marijuana FAQ, by Brian S. Julin verdant@twain.ucs.umass.edu with numerous contributions by others.
06 How about soy? Is hemp competitive as a world source of protein?
Hemp does not produce quite as much protein as soy, but
hemp seed protein is of a higher quality than soy.
Agricultural considerations may make hemp the food crop of
the future. In addition to the fact that hemp is an easy
crop to grow, it also resists UV-B light, which is a kind of
sunlight blocked by the ozone layer. Soy beans do not take
UV-B light very well. If the ozone layer were to deplete by
16%, which by some estimates is very possible, soy
production would fall by 25-30%.
We may have to grow hemp or starve -- and it won't be the
first time that this has happened. Hemp has been used to
`bail out' many populations in time of famine.
Unfortunately, because of various political factors,
starving people in today's underdeveloped countries are not
taking advantage of this crop. In some places, this is
because government officials would call it `marijuana' and
pull up the crop. In other countries, it is because the
farmers are busy growing coca and poppies to produce cocaine
and heroin for the local Drug Lord. This is truly a sad
state of affairs. Hopefully someday the Peace Corps will be
able to teach modern hemp seed farming techniques and end
the world's protein shortage.
(hemp vs. soy)
``Hemp'' by Lyster H. Dewey pp. 283-346. pub. United States Department
of Agriculture, 1913.
``Chromatography of Edestine at 50 Degrees'' by D. M. Stockwell, J. M.
Dechary, A. M. Altschul in ``Biochimica et Biophysica Acta'' Vol. 82
pp. 221. ed. pub., 1964.
(resistance to UV-B sunlight)
``UV-B Effects on Terrestrial Plants'' by Manfred Tevinie, Alan H.
Teremura in ``Photochemistry and Photobiology'' Vol. 50 Iss. 4 pp.
479-487. pub. Pergamon Press Oxford, New York, 1989.
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