What Is Hemp? History, Benefits, and Surprising Uses

By Holly Shaftel, contributing writer

When I became a vegan, I started searching for an ingredient that would give my morning protein shakes the essential amino acids (vital building blocks for your body) I needed to live. The typical pea protein powders out there were highly processed and, in my mind, gross.

Then I discovered hemp. I knew it could be used to make clothes and even replace concrete, but I didn’t know it was also considered a superfood — a marketing term for a very healthy food — and extremely versatile.

Hemp is a plant in the cannabis family that is grown for its strong fibers, seeds, and oil. It doesn’t make people feel “high” and is used to make things like clothes, paper, rope, and eco-friendly products. (Learn more about the difference between hemp and marijuana here.)

And according to UN Trade and Development, “It uses a fraction of the water needed to grow cotton, every part is useful and it absorbs more carbon dioxide per hectare than other crops and most trees.”

Let’s dive into the history of hemp and what else it can be used for!

A Brief History of Hemp

This plant is nothing new, but it seems to be making a comeback.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, hemp was grown in China for its strong fibers as early as 2800 BCE (Before Common Era). Over time, it spread to Europe during the Middle Ages, then to Chile in the 1500s, and finally to North America a century later.

Things got interesting in the United States. According to the US Department of Agriculture, Puritans brought hemp to New England in 1645 for household use. It later spread to Virginia and Kentucky, where the plant grew so well that a whole rope-making industry developed.

Between 1840 and 1860, the US Navy used hemp to make sails and rope. But when the cotton gin made cotton easier to produce — and when cheaper fibers like jute and abaca became available — hemp farming began to decline.

In 1937, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, a law influenced by racist attitudes toward Mexicans that restricted marijuana production and lumped it with hemp. This legislation — and the propaganda and money-driven motives behind it — caused the American hemp industry to collapse.

It had a brief revival during World War II (1939-1945), when the United States couldn’t get jute or abaca from overseas. The government encouraged farmers to grow hemp again, and production peaked in 1943 and 1944. After the war, restrictions returned and hemp farming mostly stopped.

Many years later, hemp got another chance. The 2014 Farm Bill allowed farmers to grow it for research, finally recognizing that hemp and marijuana are not the same. Then the 2018 Farm Bill made it legal to grow nationwide!

Unusual Uses

People have found many new ways to use this plant as a cheaper and eco-friendlier option in different industries. Besides the usual uses such as fabric and rope, here are some surprising ways it can be put to work:

Unusual Use	What It Does
Hemp batteries	Hemp fibers can be turned into thin, powerful sheets that help store energy in special batteries. (Sources: iHempWA, Porsche Club of America, Illinois Cannabis Information, Science Direct)
Hempcrete	Lightweight, fire-resistant building material that absorbs carbon (Sources: Yale Climate Connections, Environmental and Energy Study Institute, Science Direct)
Packaging	Mixed with mushroom mycelium*, hemp provides biodegradable (broken down naturally over time) packaging that replaces Styrofoam. (Sources: Canopy Dive, Mushroom Packaging, Waste Dive)
Water filters	Hemp fibers can help remove pollutants from water, including heavy metals. (Sources: IOP Science, Northern Michigan University, Natural Resources for Human Health, Grist)
Car parts	Used in door panels, dashboards, and other parts inside (Sources: Nichelle Henderson, Plastics Engineering, National Hemp Association, USDA)
3D printing	Hemp can be turned into compostable (broken down into soil) plastic for 3D printers. (Sources: National Institutes of Health, NC State University, Science Direct)
Hempwood	Used for flooring and furniture (Sources: Hempwood, Center for Craft, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Real Hemp)
Biofuel	Hemp can be converted into plant-based fuels (“hempoline”). (Sources: Science Direct, MDPI, Semantics Scholar, STET Review, NIH)
Animal bedding	Soft, absorbing, low-dust bedding for animals (Sources: NIH, Taylor & Francis Online, Science Direct)
Speaker cones	Produce warm, rich sound that comes in clearly (Sources: Wired, Tone Tubby, Google Patents, MDPI, Research Gate)
Disposable plates and utensils	Molded pulp used for eco-friendly dishware (Sources: NIH, Hemp Traders, Science Direct, Every Day Hemp)

Check out this figure to learn other ways hemp can be used for a more sustainable future.

Is Hemp the Way of the Future?

According to a 2022 review of hemp’s many uses, “The modern hemp market has a bright future …” and it’s easy to see why. Given the plant can be used in many ways, it might help create a healthier planet.

Hemp absorbs a lot of carbon from the air, uses less water than many crops, and naturally resists pests and diseases. It also breaks down quickly in the environment, and virtually every part of the plant can replace materials normally made from fossil fuels (which can harm the planet).

It’s also healthy to eat — hemp seeds could support your brain, heart, skin, and more.

If this plant were a superhero, it might be a shape-shifter. But like any hero, it needs to be used wisely. If farmers grow it without caring for the soil, water, animals, and local ecosystems, it could cause problems instead of solving them. Growing hemp responsibly is the key to making sure nature’s “Swiss Army knife” stays on the good side.

Learn about other solutions that are making our planet a better place.

* Mycelium is a fungus’s hidden root-like network that breaks down dead material and helps mushrooms grow.

Main image credit: Javier Garcia from Pixabay