Pubdate: Fri, 23 May 2014
Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Copyright: 2014 Sun-Sentinel Company
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/mVLAxQfA
Website: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159
Author: Matthew Boyle, Bloomberg News
Page: 15A
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hemp.htm (Hemp)

HEMP, WEED'S SOBER COUSIN, SLOWLY LOSING STONER STIGMA

Fata, 37, the co-founder of Manitoba Harvest, has
worked for the past decade on transforming the
sober cousin of marijuana from the butt of jokes into a supermarket staple.

The effort's paying off. Costco Wholesale,
Safeway and Whole Foods Market now sell his
products and hemp is on the cusp of a
breakthrough, thanks to looser cultivation bans
and the food industry's hunger for nutritious
plants. Even the stoner stigma is slowly abating
as hemp gets recognized for its ability to
deliver protein, rather than psychoactives.

=93Our customers are bright enough to know that it
does not have dope in it if Costco's selling it,=94
says Jim Taylor, a founding partner of Avrio
Capital, a Calgarybased venture capital company
and one of Manitoba Harvest's backers. =93It=92s more
than a fad. We believe we can build a brand here.=94

Hemp is not a drug. It's a variety of the
cannabis plant with less than 0.5 percent of the
mind-bending compound tetrahydrocannabinol, or
THC. Earlier this year the U.S. government
finally recognized hemp as distinct from its
seedier cousin, though a federal ban on
commercial cultivation remains in place.

The ban hasn't stopped imports flowing in from
Canadian companies like Manitoba Harvest, which
plans to hand out 2 million samples of its hemp
hearts =AD the soft, nuttyflavored inner kernel of hemp seeds =AD this year.

Long history

Hemp is woven into American history. George
Washington grew it, and the nation's first flags
were made from it. It's easily digestible and
packs more protein than chia or flax. It's also a
versatile food: Hemp hearts can be sprinkled on
cereal, yogurt or salads, or processed into
powders, flour or oil to make everything from
bread to beer. Hemp is pricier than, say,
chickpeas, but it provides a more complete
protein, with all nine amino acids that the human body cannot produce.

=93We have our eye on it,=94 says Colleen Zammer of
Bay State Milling, who has worked with food and
beverage companies like Kellogg and PepsiCo to
develop and promote healthy ingredients for the
past 25 years. =93It's THC-free, similar to chia in
nutrition, and better tasting.=94

Hemp's resurgence comes amid a broader shift in
climate, crops and consumer preferences. Other
protein-rich plants =AD think peas and quinoa =AD
enjoy booming sales and are in short supply,
global warming is scrambling the cultivation map
from Argentina to Canada and environmental
concerns kindle demand for local produce.

Amid this landscape, opposition to hemp is
softening. Fourteen U.S. states have removed
barriers to its cultivation, and the farm bill
Congress passed in February will allow hemp
growing for research purposes in those states.
Restrictions have eased as even marijuana gains
acceptance, and Democrats and Republicans alike
support the economic lift hemp could provide
industries ranging from textiles to home building.

=93Without realizing it many Americans already use
hemp in their soaps, automobile parts, or even in
their food,=94 says Representative Jared Polis, a
Democrat from Colorado (where private consumption
of pot is legal), and one of the legislators
behind the farm bill's hemp amendment. =93The
potential for a billion-dollar-plus domestic industry is very realistic.=94

Hemp growing has been legal since 1998 in Canada,
opening the door for entrepreneurs like Fata. As
a teenager in Winnipeg, Fata weighed over 300
pounds and tried countless fad diets until a
friend turned him on to hemp. The mix of protein
and fiber curbed his appetite for junk food, and
he's now a walking advertisement for healthier
living through hemp, practicing yoga and eating a plant-based diet.

Fata and two friends started Manitoba Harvest
soon after legalization, yet the lingering
association with pot made it hard to gain
traction early on =AD something Fata calls =93the snicker factor.=94

Others in Canada's nascent hemp sector say they
faced the same stigma. =93Some people looked at me
and turned right around like they had seen the
devil,=94 recalls Shaun Crew, chief executive officer of Hemp Oil Canada.

Fata persisted, handing out samples of his hemp
hearts at trade shows, in yoga studios, and on
the street. A few natural food stores took the
product, then in 2001 Fata's big break came when
Loblaw, Canada's biggest food retailer with 2,300 stores, signed on.

=93A lot of consumers would not give us time of day
because of all the misinformation out there,=94
Fata says. =93As we stepped up from natural food
stores to mainstream stores, the stigma started to go away.=94

Sales have tripled to more than $50 million in
the past two years. Prices range from $1.50 for a
0.9-ounce sachet all the way up to $75 for a
5-pound pouch of certified organic hearts. At a
recent industry gathering in California, Fata
introduced his latest creation: hemp-heart
=93Snaxs=94 made with brown rice syrup and organic
cane sugar. He figures sales could hit $500 million over the next decade.

Altering perception

John Elstrott, chairman of Whole Foods, says Fata
has helped debunk the myths surrounding hemp
through sampling and education. The two companies
sponsor the annual Hemp History Week, which this
year kicks off June 2 and features more than 175
events coast to coast, including a three-day
=93Hemp Hoe Down=94 in South Dakota. Celebrity
backers include musician Ziggy Marley and actress Alicia Silverstone.

Still, the stigma is hard to shed. Last year, the
U.S. Air Force told its pilots to steer clear of
a variety of Chobani Greek yogurt that came with
a side packet of hemp seeds to be tipped into the
pot. The Air Force said the product could have
enough THC to be detectable under its
drug-testing program. Chobani has since replaced
the hemp with other seeds, according to a
spokesman. It doesn't help that some hemp
companies revel in stoner stereotypes: There's
even a hemp gin and vodka brand called =93Mary Jane's.=94

Easing his black Jeep Rubicon into the parking
lot of the company's plant on the industrial
northwest side of Winnipeg on a frigid March
morning, Fata checks in on the $6 million
expansion that he says will triple his annual
production. He mentions that representatives from
Safeway approached him about making hemp-flour
bread for its in-store bakery. Safeway declined to comment.

=93Five years ago that would not have happened,=94 he says. =93Hemp is hot.
=94
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom