“Hemp is HOT!”  So says Marji Graff, CEO of the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce in Central Vermont. And it is wonderful to hear her enthusiasm since hemp is sprouting in force within the state.

Vermont has an opportunity to help lead the way in the production of hemp in America, where it has been a Federal offense for the past 70 years.

Currently, the state has 12 registered growers and if American Seed and Oil Company has its way, there will be 1,000 acres in hemp production by the spring of 2015.

Growers are nervous. Despite the fact that it is legal to grow hemp in Vermont, it is still considered a crime in the United States of America. In fact, we are the only country in the world where it is illegal to grow hemp.

In connecting the dots in the history of hemp, it is easy to see that perhaps the number one reason for the prohibition on marijuana was to stop the production of hemp, and thus eliminate competition as corporate America rolled out synthetics and plastics.

The one word of advice given to Dustin Hoffman’s character in the 1967 film, The Graduate, was  plastics. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew it. Hemp was considered a staple crop on revolutionary farms, used for rope and various and sundry things including the making of sails for ships.

The first copy of the Declaration of Independence was written on sheets of hemp parchment.

Over 50,000 items can be made from hemp including batteries. Hemp seeds contain the highest amounts of Omega 3’s, 6’s and 9’s, making it a powerful addition to building a balanced daily diet. You can eat it, wear it, heat your home, make a car body, as Henry Ford did… a Vermont snowboard, or the paper for your computer.

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Emily Peyton’s Hempfully Green

And that is just the beginning. As states like Vermont consider existing jobs and potential industry, hemp is becoming increasingly attractive as a source of revenue for its farmers and a way to develop opportunities for manufacturing here at home.

Co-owner of Hempfully Green, Vermont gubernatorial candidate Emily Peyton is not only growing hemp, she is basing her political platform on hemp production as a means of supporting all areas of life in Vermont. With the increase in jobs and tax revenue from hemp, Vermonters will be able to enjoy the benefits of a stronger school system, energy independence, and medical care.

Peyton sees a sustainable, greener future for the state by building with hempcrete, a composite of hemp and concrete — thus eliminating 50 percent of carbon emissions inside the home — keeping Vermonters healthier and happier.

Ed Bollen, CEO of American Seed and Oil Company, has a vision of engaging farmers and returning veterans as hemp producers in Vermont and around the country. (American Seed and Oil Company’s first hemp crop in Vermont.) Bollen’s company will pursue underserved sectors of the overall hemp and marijuana industries, create a seed bank, a central location to press oil, and a center for the Vermont hemp community to flourish.

Growing Warriors, Kentucky

The inspiration comes from Mike Lewis of Kentucky, who started Growing Warriors in 2012. When Mike’s brother came back from serving his country, the first thing he needed to do was sign up for food stamps so that he could eat.

Mike understood that a community garden would provide food for veterans and their families, along with a skill that could be turned into income.

That first year, 12 veterans and their families were taught how to grow, harvest and preserve their produce as well as seed production.

Participants asked to be shown how they could do this at home. From there, the program has expanded to include training for children so that they, too, will have skills to grow organic, nutritious food for themselves and their families.

Mike Lewis and Growing Warriors now call a 500-acre farm in rural Kentucky home. From the original 12 community garden participants, three have gone on to run their own programs. An enormous benefit from the program is the therapeutic one, that of connecting these men and women to the earth.

The wonder of planting some seeds, of nurturing, harvesting and eating them, is a powerful gift that is part of the process of returning these individuals to themselves.

As Lewis says, the number of veteran suicides is vastly underreported with over half of returning veterans not registered with the VA. Growing Warriors not only feeds the body, but enables participants to reconnect as a society. Their goal is to forge a new land — one of respect for land and each other.

Among its crops, Growing Warriors grows hemp. Lewis laughs at the irony of soldiers growing lace for doilies. But for them, hemp represents economic survival. Business people are coming in to talk. Neighboring farmers are asking how they can participate. A sense of community is created.

Ed and Emily and Mike share a similar vision. Change needs to begin from the bottom up. In a small state like Vermont with a population of approximately 600,000, the whole state can become an extended community.

Growers can share equipment and create a coop. People can barter and share their produce. Every part of the hemp plant can be put to use in production, with home businesses thriving. In addition to a shared vision, these three individuals are in the process of building new leadership.

For as surely as the hemp plant is a hearty one that does not require pesticides to grow, people are becoming empowered in the process of growing hemp. Once it reaches 12 inches in height, the hemp plant stops the production of weeds by halting the sunlight from reaching them.  What an appropriate metaphor for what we need to do on the community level to keep what no longer works in America from growing.

Upcoming event at the Trends Research Institute.

Gerald Celente, publisher of the Trends Journal, equates hemp production with a return to nature, a renaissance of concern for quality and creating products that are natural and can be easily recycled. Celente feels hemp will be one of the ways in which Americans can break the chains that have been imposed by the globalists who are supporting multinational corporations. Our forefathers warned against foreign entanglements.

Hemp growing at home can foster creativity and revenue for Americans and make us more self-sustaining and independent as a country. As President Obama promotes war, we must consciously turn away from the military industrial complex and “plant for peace.”

And Mike Lewis’s brother Fred? He’s doing fine. He says, “Working with the soil gives me a sense of purpose and giving back to the land fulfills my need of service to my family, my community and my country.”

Mia Feroleto is a well-known art adviser, activist and artist who lives in Vermont. She was the creator of A SHELTER FROM THE STORM: ARTISTS FOR THE HOMELESS OF NEW YORK and ARTWALK NY, now a national event that opens well-known artists’ studios to the public to raise funds for the Coalition for the Homeless and other causes. Feroleto is a committed animal rights and animal welfare activist.She is determined to maximize visibility for the arts and our cultural world and is currently developing the Adopt An Artist Program to send artists to destinations around the globe in order develop their art. Currently, she is working on creating a sustainable, creative community in Vermont. She can be reached at mia.feroleto@gmail.com.

SF Source VeteransToday  Oct 5 2014