Hemp farming in Sydney's backyard

[paradox]

source- The Land

RICHARD FRIAR loves growing dope. His backyard on the northern beaches is full of the stuff - 500 plants, to be precise.

But Mr Friar is no dealer, and this is no underground plantation. The 66-year-old and his wife, Wendy, are the proud owners of Australia's first licensed industrial hemp crop to be grown in an urban area.

"I'd prefer you didn't publish exactly where we are," he says.

"Even though this is no good for smoking, you can imagine what would happen if people found out."

The Friars are hemp evangelists, firm believers in the world-changing potential of this most versatile of plants, which can be used in everything from food to fabrics and building materials.

With permission from the Department of Primary Industries, they are in the first stages of a pilot project aimed at teaching farmers how to grow hemp and commercialise its myriad byproducts.

The Friars' crop, a mix of Chinese cultivars known as Yellow River and Lulu, is a fine example: the stalks can be used in the textile and construction industries - "they even use it, instead of steel, to reinforce concrete" - while the seeds can be eaten.

In December the couple applied to Food Standards for permission to sell the seed for human consumption, with approval expected early next year.

"They are a real superfood," Wendy says. "It's 23 per cent protein, and has more Omega 3 and Omega 6 than virtually any other source, including fish.

''In the early 1800s, Australia was twice saved from famine by eating virtually nothing but hemp seed for protein and hemp leaves for roughage."

But the couple also plan to become brokers for hemp products, importing seeds and matching overseas and local producers with those undertaking retail or construction projects.

"We want to kickstart consumer demand,'' Wendy explains. "It's hard, though, because hemp has for so long been vilified as a dangerous drug."

A film-maker, farmer, former horse trainer and grade rugby union player, Mr Friar has long been interested in permaculture and recycling; his company King Poo was one of the first to sell worm farms in the early 1990s. But it is hemp that has him raving.

"As a grandfather several times over, I am championing this now as the answer to a lot of our sustainability problems. We just have to lose the baggage we have about hemp, and approach it in a more mature way."

[Chiral]

Cool, I'm really interested in the seed,.. it sounds like a wonderful snack food...yummy, good to see people doing something out of the norm too, just hope some pissed idiots don't find out about it and try and break in etc..

good on him I say.

[bℓσωηG]

great photo! i have eaten a hemp seed bar that tasted very nutritious....apparently Buddah sustained himself upon 1 hemp seed per day only

[Slybacon]

Got my support

[ThunderIdeal]

YYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY for hemp, hemp goods, hemp farmers and hemp consumers.

[JDanger]

Bump for great justice.

His smile implies a toke.

[ref1ect1ons]

Beautiful foliage and i cant wait to eat the seed.

[C_T]

had an awesome idea, with those healthy fats, you could make all sorts of hemp seed variants.

Hemp seed bread (healthy fats + proteins)!!! Would be the bomb!

[Korky]

surely its only a matter of time.

the talk by sussana wilkerson is pretty good.

even in Iran hemp seed is eaten legally.

[paradox]

fresh hemp seed is delicious & oily. about ten years ago some people i know were involved in an hemp farming operation. it only lasted a couple of years. i'm not sure why it failed to take off in the end. i think it was simply the bureaucracy & red tape was too much to make it possible in the long term & they basically had to get on with their lives. i'll find out if & when i see any of these people again...

good on these guys i reckon, good to see some good publicity for them too! i'm a believer in hemps 'world saving' status among plants, if only we can be saved from ourselves..

i just hope none of this guys neighbors are into outdoor sinsemilla growing in their backyards.. they could end up mighty pissed off if they are...

[Korky]

maybe the seed would be helpful in the treatment of schizophrenia, the below article discuss's the benefit of omega 3 in its treatment...

Fish oil hope for schizophrenia patients

By Lexi Metherell for The World Today

Posted Tue Feb 2, 2010 5:16pm AEDT

Updated Tue Feb 2, 2010 5:28pm AEDT

People with schizophrenia have lower levels of omega-3 or polyunsaturated fatty acids (ABC News: Giulio Saggin)

A new study suggests that fish oil could be the key to a safe and effective form of treatment for young people with schizophrenia.

For young people at risk of developing the mental illness, early treatment is generally seen as the best way to avoid full-blown psychosis down the track.

Adolescent psychiatrist Paul Amminger of the University of Melbourne's Orygen Youth Health Centre says low doses of anti-psychotic drugs are sometimes prescribed, but it is controversial.

"Because of the side effects and because only part of those people progress to a full threshold disorder, we should also question if in such an early stage an intervention should be provided and, in particular, intervention with anti-psychotic medication," he said.

Professor Amminger led a Vienna-based study which has been published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

It looked at whether regular doses of fish oil could stave off schizophrenia in people with a high risk of developing the disorder.

He says it is well-established that people with schizophrenia have lower levels of omega-3 or polyunsaturated fatty acids.

"We also know from etiological evidence that in countries like Norway or Iceland or Japan, the prevalence for instance for bipolar disorder is significantly lower," he said.

Seventy-six people completed the study and of the group, 41 were given fish oil tablets four times a day for three months. The rest were given a placebo.

Of the group that took the fish oil capsules, only two had developed a psychotic disorder after a year, while of the placebo group, 11 went on to develop some kind of psychosis.

Professor Amminger says while there have been previous studies examining the links between fatty acids and mental health, this study showed the most conclusive results.

"The dose which we are providing through fish oil capsules, it is not a huge dose," he said.

Dr Phil Brock, the director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Women and Children's Hospital in Adelaide, says it is becoming increasingly clear how important fish oil is to the development of brain cells.

He says in a recent South Australian study, omega-3 substances were given to breastfeeding women with premature babies.

"Those premature babies that received the omega-3 in the breast milk did show advanced improvement in neurological development compared to the prem infants that didn't receive the omega-3s," he said.

But he thinks it is too early to say whether fish oil could be prescribed for a range of mental illnesses.

"It could become routine but certainly they are being looked at in a lot of conditions," he said.

"At the other end of the spectrum, we are getting some early evidence that people that take omega-3 fish oil substances might be at a lesser risk of developing dementia in the later years.

"So they are obviously useful in many, many areas of disease and hopefully that can help us with problems in psychiatric disorders."

source

[ThunderIdeal]

has there been any conclusions about usefulness of plant-formed omega 3? years ago they (fish oil advocates, maybe) were saying the body has a pretty limited capacity to convert plant omega 3 into usable omega 3.

[Korky]

has there been any conclusions about usefulness of plant-formed omega 3? years ago they (fish oil advocates, maybe) were saying the body has a pretty limited capacity to convert plant omega 3 into usable omega 3.

 

didnt know they differed until now. fair question but beyond me.

?

Edited February 3, 2010 by Korky