The seeds of the hemp plant are used as a food source, and ground to produce oils for a wide range of purposes, including technical and industrial applications. The hemp plant in its whole state can be used as a biofuel, and even the cell fluid of the hemp plant is now used in the manufacture of abrasive fluids.

A history of hemp

The common hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, is one of the earliest recorded domestically grown plants, with evidence of its cultivation by humans since Neolithic times. Hemp is found across the world, and has a long history of widespread use for a range of important products: hemp seeds for oils and resin, food, fuel, medicines and cosmetics; hemp fibre for hard-wearing clothing, rope and tough fabrics such as sailcloth (the word canvas derives from cannabis: literally – originally – 'a fabric made from hemp'), and as a pulp from which to make paper.

It is thought that the plant originated in China, and that its cultivation gradually spread westwards through India and into the Middle East, Africa and the Mediterranean, where it formed an essential part of the livelihood and culture of each people who grew it. Surviving writings from the Egyptian, Greek and Roman records show how important the hemp plant was to the lifestyle, trade and expansion of these great civilizations.