Draft 4 | Going Green with Hemp
Jordan Michael Palmer
Adams
Rc 2001
07 November 2017
Why Appalachian State should go green
Annotated Bibliography
"House Bill 992." North Carolina General Assembly . November 07, 2017. https://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2015/Bills/House/PDF/H992v5.pdf.
This source is the rules, regulations, and laws surrounding industrial hemp in North Carolina. Anyone in the industry or wanting to get into the industry must be fully aware of all the articles in here. This is the ratified version that was signed July 1, 2017. I will be using this as the basis for knowing what can and cannot be done. This is one of the most important sources and is the one anyone being required to give approval to research will want to look at.
"NCAGR.GOV." North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Accessed November 08, 2017. http://www.ncagr.gov/hemp.
This text is a collection of multiple sources that gives a good introductory briefing with an excellent FAQ and information section. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture is written for North Carolina Residents interested in growing industrial hemp in N.C. and is a good first place to start to find more information. It states a brief synopsis of some of the sources like the basics of hemp being classified as Cannabis Sativa L, and that it can only contain 0.3% THC. I will be using this information but will go through the sources they have received it from which go into more details and specifics. This is is a non bias information peice of work. The ultimate goal is to inform the general public of what is to be common law and norms for the future use and cultivation of industrial hemp.
"Statement of Principles on Industrial Hemp ." U.S. Government Publishing Office. August 12, 2016. Accessed November 08, 2017. https://www.gpo.gov/.
This source provides excellent introduction to the principles of industrial hemp. This is an article for anyone interested in the rules, laws, and governmental oversights currently set in place for this industry, like the fact that only people approved under state departments of agriculture and are participating in the pilot plan are authorized to grow, it shows the vigorous process of purchasing seeds even when approved can be complicated as it's still as a schedule one drug to DEA and must be purchased through them. It states It covers basic information stating what hemp actually is, cannabis sativa L, with congress making the distinction between the too but stating the DEA does not. I will be using these regulations as a foundation on future research and in development of the business plan and project. This is more or less the “code” in building terms, there is no bias or rhetoric involved in this source, this is purely statistical and code and regulation based.
Johnson, Renee. "Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity." Homeland Security Digital Library. March 10, 2017. https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=799560.
This source is by far the most informative piece of information I have had the pleasure of reading in regards to Cannabis Sativa L or Industrial Hemp. Its written by Renee Johnson an expert in the field and was published by the homeland security digital library. This is a source for anyone in the field that is interested in all of the details regarding hemp and it being an agricultural commodity. This is source is more about Hemp itself and less about commodities in terms of market caps and trading though it touches on potential complications in the hemp industry in terms of potential for overproduction, potential future complications with the DEA and others. It breaks down Hemp into the main categories of production, distribution and marketing which entails producing for the seed, stalk, or the fruit. It then further breaks down each category into examples of what that looks like as a finished product.
“Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!” (Washington 1794). With the U-haul truck loaded to the brim I headed out of Wilmington, North Carolina, GPS set for Boone. I had just finished my associates degree in Sustainable Technologies and eager to pursue further education in the sustainability field I was left with only one real option, to continue at Appalachian State University where the nation's first sustainable development program was established and thriving. As I headed past the majority of North Carolina's seemingly endless and lack luster tobacco farms, which has degraded the land here for far too long (Bishop 2017). I soon realized there was an opportunity to replace this once thriving industry with one that's sustainable and far more beneficial to not only society, but the planet as well (Biggers 2017).
My project will create something new for myself and hopefully start a chain of events that will start something new at Appalachian State. Since 2017 is the first year that North Carolinians can grow Industrial Hemp under the pilot program, there are not too many people doing it at the moment. I will be creating a pitch to give to Appalachian State University to allow me to research this plant by growing it on the sustainable development farm, or another plot of land somewhere approved by administration. I have been excited about participating in the pilot program since House Bill 992 passed, but there isn't too much information available on how you can participate or what requirements one must have to be granted a permit to grow. Through the knowledge I’ve gained through the research for this project and the information given to me from the program director of the N.C. industrial hemp program, Emily Febles, I am informed on how a N.C. resident can join the movement.
There are numerous strands of theories, issues, and solutions that connect the cannabis plant and sustainable development. I want to clarify, for the purpose of this work to be taken seriously, that this project is to have no confusion with the cousin plant, marijuana. I will be referring to the specific plant Cannabis Sativa L, more commonly known as Industrial Hemp for the entirety of this work. One of the biggest issues that hemp will be a solution in stopping, and hopefully reversing, is the ever so controversial topic of Climate Change, though by now most people will agree that it is a real thing with real consequences, whether this is due to anthropogenic reasons is a whole other debate but one that doesn't truly matter if trying to find a solution. Hemp has some of the best phytoremediation properties of any plant on earth. This not only increase the fertility of the soil as well as taking out some major soil pollutants like Cadmium, it's important to stress the hemp grown for the intent of phytoremediation should only be used as fiber and not produced for seeds or CBD which is ingested. The United Nation has projects like “REDD” that are trying to reduce emissions from deforestation and soil degradation, These problems aren't just global issues we have had the same problem here in this state, “To add to farmers’ woes, constant cultivation of cotton and tobacco had damaged soil, robbing it of nutrients needed for crops to grow well. Also, farmers who had tried to earn money by lumbering had stripped the forests of trees. This meant that rain washed deep gullies across the land. Such soil erosion left land unsuitable to grow other crops like grains and vegetables. As a result, North Carolina had to import some of its food during the 1930s, even though it remained a largely rural state with agriculture as its economic backbone (Bishop 2017)”. Forests are a carbon sink and store carbon that ends up released when its cut.
Deforestation is the second single largest source for greenhouse gas emissions, amassing to around 13% annually, which is more than all the world's cars, and trucks combined, if that puts things in perspective for you (Panwar et al 2017). Hemps leaves are 50% nitrogen which enables it to increase soil fertility rather than deplete it, this along with its other qualities like being able to be grown pesticide free, it’s short 120 day grow cycle, and its ability to be implemented in crop rotation systems will ensure hemp a spot on many farms in the future. Hemp not only cleans the soils of our land but also cleans the air we breathe, and unlike trees this hemp can be harvested and manufactured into over 50,000 products most of which continue to store the carbon that was sequestered. Deforestation is primarily caused by the agriculture industry. Deforestation has been mostly caused by humans moving up the food chain and consuming more beef. To support the influx of cattle, more land is cleared, the new cattle then must be fed, which brings us to our second culprit, the soy industry, which is used for feed (Panwar et al 2017). Hemp can help solve this by eliminating what most of the soy is grown for, hemp seeds are some of the most protein rich seed of any on earth. This can be produced into a cake that can be used for animal feed which can help halt the environmentally destructive soy industry. Aside from the deforestation issue, the oil industry as well as the pharmaceutical industry will also take a hit with the increase of domestically produced and manufactured hemp and hemp products. These issues, like most issues in sustainable development, can’t be solved by one solution but it can be met with a response of hemp, what percentage of the solution this can be I am not sure, but it will most definitely lend a hand in reversing climate change and helping the world achieve a more sustainable future.
Agenda for Completion
Research
How to make business plan and pitch.
Pros for ASU to allow me to research.
Cons for ASU to allow me to research.
Topics to answer research question
How to add value post-harvest, i.e could hemp be used for napkins in food services? Make “sustainability focused” App sportswear line? Bio-Fuel?
Complete Multimodal project
Create Prezi Presentation for pitch
Contact sources- Emily Febles: Program Director for Industrial Hemp Program, Contact Professor to oversee research and be the licensee, Get approved by administration.
Works Cited
"House Bill 992." North Carolina General Assembly . November 07, 2017. https://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2015/Bills/House/PDF/H992v5.pdf.
"NCAGR.GOV." North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Accessed November 08, 2017. http://www.ncagr.gov/hemp.
"Statement of Principles on Industrial Hemp ." U.S. Government Publishing Office. August 12, 2016. Accessed November 08, 2017. https://www.gpo.gov/.
Biggers, Jeff. "Regenerative Appalachia: Storytelling And Songs Re-Envision Boone, North Carolina." The Huffington Post. July 30, 2017. Accessed November 05, 2017. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/597dd42fe4b0c69ef70528ed.
Bishop, RoAnn. "Agriculture in North Carolina during the Great Depression." Agriculture in North Carolina during the Great Depression | NCpedia. Accessed November 10, 2017. https://www.ncpedia.org/agriculture/great-depression.
Johnson, Renee. "Hemp as an Agricultural Commodity." Homeland Security Digital Library. March 10, 2017. https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=799560.
Panwar, Rajat.
Washington, George. "Spurious Quotations." George Washington's Mount Vernon. Accessed November 01, 2017. http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/spurious-quotations/.