A new video from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) touts the many uses of hemp, including for fabric, paper, construction materials and a wide range of nutritional products. Novel ways of processing the plant, it adds, could one day incorporate nutrients from hemp into even more everyday foods.<\/p>\n
Scientists with USDA\u2019s Agricultural Research Service are working to \u201cunlock this plant\u2019s amazing nutritional benefits for consumers and new economic benefits for the farmer,\u201d the agency said in a news release this week. The research is unfolding at the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, in Peoria, Illinois.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hemp plant is a very robust plant,\u201d Sean Liu, a research leader at the facility, says in the new video, noting that hemp grows in a range of different conditions, requires comparatively few agricultural inputs and can be processed into all sorts of products.<\/p>\n
Nutritionally, seeds contain a variety of amino acids and are rich in protein, Liu adds, while hempseed oil contains both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. \u201cIt has a lot of unsaturated fatty acids that\u2019s good for your heart, and it also can lower your blood pressure,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n
But as Liu says in the video, there\u2019s more work do be done to unlock hemp\u2019s nutritional potential.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to fully utilize the hemp seeds,\u201d says the researcher. \u201cOil is a good part of the hemp seeds, but there are other things that we want to utilize to maximize the benefits of the hemp seeds, such as the proteins and the dietary fibers. They are all good food ingredients that can be used for a lot of healthy food.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nUSDA\u2019s release<\/a> says the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is a good investment for Americans. \u201cEach dollar invested in U.S. agricultural research,\u201d it claims, \u201cresults in $20 of economic impact.\u201d<\/p>\n With hemp, ARS hopes to find new, more effective ways to incorporate hemp\u2019s nutritional components into foods, Liu explains in the agency\u2019s video.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a couple ways of utilizing hemp seeds,\u201d he says. \u201cOne is that you use the whole grains, the whole seeds\u2026 The other way to do it is to take out some of the components to incorporate the formulation of a lot of common foods.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think that the industry really does not have that kind of knowledge. It takes time, money to try some of those things that they may not be willing to spend,\u201d the research director continues. \u201cWhat we will try to do is develop a technology that enables the industry to use those materials.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of that work, Liu says, \u201cwe want to figure out what is going to happen if you put those ingredients in the food formulation\u2014for instance bakery goods, Cheetos, whatever it is\u2014that will cause the color changes, texture changes or flavor changes. If that\u2019s the issue, how are we going to solve it?\u201d<\/p>\n The aim of the research, he concludes, is to increase demand for farmers\u2019 hemp crops and expand consumer access to healthy food.<\/p>\n Since the legalization of hemp in the U.S. through the federal 2018 Farm Bill, USDA has been working to bolster the hemp industry, including by\u00a0appointing a number of industry stakeholders<\/a> this past summer to a federal trade advisory committee meant to support efforts to promote U.S.-grown cannabis around the world.<\/p>\n The agency also recently made what it calls \u201cimprovements\u201d to a federal hemp crop insurance program<\/a>. The changes ease certain crop-rotation requirements and remove smoke damage as a cause of covered loss and\u00a0apply to USDA\u2019s Hemp Crop Insurance Standards\u00a0Handbook\u00a0and Hemp Loss Adjustment Standards\u00a0Handbook\u00a0for 2025 and succeeding crop years.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the department recently announced it is\u00a0delaying enforcement of a rule requiring hemp growers to test their crops exclusively at labs registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)<\/a>, citing \u201csetbacks\u201d at the agency that have led to \u201cinadequate\u201d access to such facilities.<\/p>\n This is\u00a0the third year in a row that USDA has delayed enforcement of the lab testing policy for hemp<\/a>\u00a0required under the 2018 Farm Bill that federally legalized the crop.<\/p>\n In August, USDA also advised stakeholders of a\u00a0policy change in China to impose tighter regulations on hemp-derived CBD<\/a>, though it said the new rules were expected to benefit the industry.<\/p>\n Two years after hemp and its derivatives were federally legalized in the U.S. under the 2018 Farm Bill, China agreed to a trade deal that required it to\u00a0buy significantly more of the non-intoxicating cannabis crop<\/a>\u00a0from U.S. sources. That agreement expired in 2022, however.<\/p>\n USDA also\u00a0awarded $745,000 to the National Industrial Hemp Council (NIHC) to support efforts to promote the industry<\/a>\u00a0internationally in emerging markets across the world. In 2020,\u00a0USDA awarded NIHC $200,000 as part of a different grant program<\/a>.<\/p>\n The latest grant round was distributed during a precarious time for the hemp industry. While a USDA report found that\u00a0the market started to rebound in 2023 after suffering significant losses the prior year<\/a>, it\u2019s still facing uncertainties as congressional lawmakers have advanced bills that would\u00a0effectively ban most consumable hemp-based cannabinoid products<\/a>\u2014a major sector of the cannabis economy.<\/p>\n The Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in a report in June that hemp provisions included in one spending bill that moved through committee\u00a0could also \u201ccreate confusion\u201d for the industry due to a lack of clarity<\/a>\u00a0around the type of allowable products.<\/p>\n Senate Democrats recently\u00a0released the long-awaited draft of 2024 Farm Bill<\/a>\u00a0that contained several proposed changes to federal hemp laws\u2014including provisions to amend how the legal limit of THC is measured and reducing regulatory barriers for farmers who grow the crop for grain or fiber. But certain stakeholders are concerned that part of the intent of the legislation is to \u201celiminate a whole range of products\u201d that are now sold in the market.<\/p>\n One key component of the legislation concerns the definition of hemp. As currently enacted, a crop is considered federally legal hemp if it contains no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by dry weight. That would be revised under the new bill, making it so hemp would have to be tested for \u201ctotal THC\u201d content, including cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC and THC-A, and not just delta-9.<\/p>\n That could theoretically lead to a significant upheaval of the hemp industry as it has evolved since the crop was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, restricting not only the varieties of plants that could be cultivated but also the products that would be permitted in the marketplace. Lawmakers have been increasingly targeting intoxicating cannabinoid products that have proliferated in recent years.<\/p>\n The new draft bill would also create a specific definition for \u201cindustrial hemp,\u201d which includes fiber, stalks, grain, oil, seeds and other components of the plant that \u201cwill not be used in the manufacturing or synthesis of natural or synthetic cannabinoid products.\u201d<\/p>\n Recent USDA data showed a slight rebound in the hemp economy in 2023\u2014the result of a\u00a0survey that the department mailed to thousands of farmers across the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0in January. The\u00a0first version of the department\u2019s hemp report<\/a>\u00a0was released in early 2022, setting a \u201cbenchmark\u201d to compare to as the industry matures.<\/p>\n Bipartisan lawmakers and industry stakeholders have sharply criticized FDA for declining to enact regulations for hemp-derived CBD, which they say is largely responsible for the economic stagnation.<\/p>\n To that end,\u00a0FDA Commissioner Robert Califf testified before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee<\/a>\u00a0in April, where he faced questions about the agency\u2019s position that it needed additional congressional authorization to regulate the non-intoxicating cannabinoid.<\/p>\n USDA is also reportedly\u00a0revoking hemp licenses for farmers who are simultaneously growing marijuana<\/a>\u00a0under state-approved programs, underscoring yet another policy conflict stemming from the ongoing federal prohibition of some forms of the cannabis plant.<\/p>\n For the time being, the hemp industry continues to face unique regulatory hurdles that stakeholders blame for the crop\u2019s value plummeting in the short years since its legalization. Despite the economic conditions, however, a recent report found that\u00a0the hemp market in 2022 was larger than all state marijuana markets<\/a>, and it roughly equaled sales for craft beer nationally.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, internally at USDA, food safety workers are being\u00a0encouraged to exercise caution and avoid cannabis products<\/a>, including federally legal CBD, as the agency observes an \u201cuptick\u201d in positive THC tests amid \u201cconfusion\u201d as more states enact legalization.<\/p>\n As for the nutritional value of hemp, an organization of livestock feed control officials earlier this year voted to allow commercial farmers to begin using hemp seed meal as food for egg-laying hens<\/a>. Under the new policy, which was recommended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), hemp meal can account for up to 20 percent of hens\u2019 diet.<\/p>\n Last year, meanwhile, New York lawmakers sent Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) a bill that would have legalized hemp seed as a feed ingredient for horses, llamas and household pets<\/a>, though the governor\u00a0ultimately vetoed the measure<\/a>, citing lack of safety information on the practice.<\/p>\n The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)\u00a0sent warning letters in 2022 to a series of businesses<\/a>\u00a0marketing CBD products for animals, cautioning that there\u2019s a \u201clack of data on what levels of potential residues are safe for a person consuming the foods that come from CBD-treated animals.\u201d<\/p>\n In April 2023, however, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that cows that are fed hempseed cake retain very low concentrations of THC and CBD<\/a>\u00a0in their bodies, indicating that meat products from hemp-fed cattle are safe for human consumption.<\/p>\n Another federally funded study published in 2022 found that\u00a0feeding cows hemp in fact reduces their stress levels<\/a>. Researchers have also previously looked into\u00a0how CBD affects stress and pain in horses<\/a>.<\/p>\n Among humans, use of cannabis\u00a0stretches back millennia, according to a recent study<\/a>, with the plant employed as\u00a0a source of fiber, nutrition, medicine, spirituality and pleasure.<\/p>\n Cannabis Pollen Travels Far And Wide On The Wind, Study Shows, Raising Concerns For Cross-Pollination Of Hemp Crops<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The post USDA Highlights Work To Unlock Hemp\u2019s \u2018Amazing Nutritional Benefits\u2019 For Consumers And Its Economic Value For Farmers<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A new video from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) touts the many uses of hemp, including for fabric, paper, construction materials and a wide range of nutritional products. Novel ways of processing the plant, it adds, could one day incorporate nutrients from hemp into even more everyday foods. ScientistsContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79571"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79571"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79572,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79571\/revisions\/79572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: USDA Highlights Work To Unlock Hemp\u2019s \u2018Amazing Nutritional Benefits\u2019 For Consumers And Its Economic Value For Farmers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"