EIHA Traces the Role of Hemp in a Sustainable European Economy

EIHA’s concern for the sustainability of Europe’s future and recent environmental and health catastrophes has led the organization to take further action this year, by publishing a paper titled Hemp: a real Green Deal.

Opened by a declaration of full support toward the vision to which the European Commission is committed, the European Industrial Hemp Association is going to dedicate efforts and resources to keep on working with EU bodies in order to pursue the objectives of the Green New Deal and contribute to the recovery of the European economy. “EIHA intends to focus in particular on the new policy framework, highlighting how hemp can offer a fundamental contribution (…) able to accelerate the transition to a model of regenerative growth”. A model that, according to the organization, brings along thousands of new jobs for highly qualified individuals, in productive regions and rural areas, which could also contribute to a repopulation of the latter ones.

Why hemp for the Green New Deal?

The EIHA acknowledges in the very first page how “many complications and obstacles prevent hemp from playing the role it deserves within our economies.” To solve this problem, they are advocating awareness and knowledge campaigns, alongside governmental and citizen support, in an effort to bring society on board with the “#hemprevolution”.

The paper follows by outlining the various uses and benefits that the hemp plant brings about, among whichcapturing and storing CO2, the removal of heavy metals from the soil, the nutritional benefits connected to the plant, the textile and plastic revolution it would imply, and a sustainable alternative for the paper industry.

How to make it happen.

“In order for hemp to be a profitable crop,“ farmers should be legally able to transform all parts of the plant into income, most importantly the flowers and leaves. The market share represented by CBD products can be leveraged to invest into processing facilities for textile and fibre.”

EIHA urges the EU to acknowledge the fact that hemp is not part of the scope of the United Nations Convention on Narcotic Drugs and that the whole plant should be considered a legal crop, not only parts of it. “In parallel, member States should not apply the drug control legislations to industrial hemp and its derived products.”