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****** HEMP ******
*** THE PAPER CROP OF THE FUTURE ***
By John Birrenbach The Institute for HEMP
Hemp is it the wonder plant of the next century, can it be as
great a boom to the planet as is predicted by so many, is it truly
the cash crop that is predicted ? All of these were questions of
mine when I formed the Institute for HEMP. I was out to find
the real truth about the hemp plant and either confirm or deny, separately,
the information being told on both sides of the issue.
What I discovered was this. That since the early thirties of
this century a campaign of misleading information has been
disseminated about this plant. Also that there is hard evidence
to prove that hemp can indeed be used in the manufacture of
thousands of products. Further that hemp can relieve the
pollution stress on our environment. As I will show in detail
hemp can save the world from economic and environmental disaster
all we have to do is demand the switch be made.
The Institute has finished a study on the feasibility of using
hemp for paper. What we found was astonishing. First we found
that the United Sates alone uses some 54.1 million Metric Tons
(MT) of trees in the production of paper each year. Of that some
is imported the rest is U.S. cut. These trees are also worth
between $750 to $1,000 per MT depending on if the tree is either
of hard or soft wood, soft being more expensive. This makes the
tree pulp paper industry worth $40.5 to $54.1 Billion Dollars per
year.
During our study we searched for agricultural records. We found
that the U.S. has approx 950 Million Acres (MA) of available farm
land. Of that land we planted, in 87, some 450 MA's. This leaves
some 500 MA of land unplanted each year. We also found out that
the farmer on average receives $350-400 per acre for corn, of
which some is government subsides. We discovered in old USDA
Literature, 1942, that the farmer can produce 2-3 tons of hemp
stalks per acre. These stalks are the raw material for a number
of products of which paper is one. We could easily pay the
farmer $350 per MT for hemp stalks to be used in the manufacture
of paper. At the rate of only 2 tons per acre the farmer could
receive approx. $700 per acre. If the farmers of the US were to
supply the raw material for paper they would need to plant some 27
MAUs, or 5% of the UNPLANTED FARM LAND to hemp. That 27 MAUs
would be worth conservatively $18.9 Billion Dollars per year.
This would also reduce the paper cost to consumers by 50-70%. If
we wanted to keep the pulp industry as it is the farmers would
finally reap the benefits they truly deserve.
When we examined the viability of hemp for paper we concluded the
following. First that hemp as a paper source is an extremely
viable alternative. Unlike Kenaf, a plant the USDA has high hopes
for and can only be grown in the south west, hemp can be grown on
any farm land in the continental U.S. Even marginal land should
be able to produce 2 tons of stalk per acre. Hemp also does not
require the use of fertilizers, like kenaf. Hemp when
manufactured into paper does not require the use of the toxic
chemicals, like tree paper. Instead hemp paper only requires the
use of lye, or lime stone, to break the lignan down and hydrogen
peroxide to bleach it white. While the factories currently making
trees into pulp will have to retool for hemp the cost of this
retool will be far cheaper than the lawsuits that will be filled
by environmentalists against them if they donUt stop the pollution
they create.
We must ask our selves and elected official if we want to remain
the same and die on a burned out planet or do we want to save
ourselves and our children's world. Hemp is a plant that can
indeed save the worlds trees.