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“Slash-and-burn” in slang suggests ruthless destruction. We think of CEOs who significantly downsize departments, political candidates who blast their foes, and homeowners who clean out their trash-packed garages. In these cases, slash-and-burn is a metaphor. In agriculture, it’s real.

International and US experts in hemp-lime construction gathered at the Lower Sioux Community in Morton, MN to celebrate hemp-based building materials at the 13th Annual International Hemp Building Symposium this month. Co-hosted by the Ireland-based International Hemp Building Association (IHBA) and the Lower Sioux Hemp Program, the event featured both scientific research and practical applications of bio-based building materials.

By: RootSource Media Staff, In 2018, Congress removed hemp from the federal Controlled Substances Act by setting a limit of 0.3 percent delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. Section 10113 of the 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp and its derivatives under that threshold.  This change created an entirely new agricultural and commercial sector encompassing fiber, grain, cannabinoids, and biobased…

By: RootSource Media Staff, Fashion is under pressure to cut carbon, chemical use, and waste. Materials are the starting point, and a new class of regenerative fibers is moving into the spotlight. Hemp and flax lead the plant side, joined by nettle, bamboo processed as closed-loop lyocell, and dryland agave and sisal. On the animal side, responsibly sourced wool and…

A recent scan of ecosystem actors across Oceania shows that the industrial hemp industry is gathering real momentum in both Australia and New Zealand, mirroring trends around the world where hemp is re-emerging as a cornerstone of sustainable and circular economies. Businesses are emerging across the value chain, backed by growing interest and support from governments, researchers, communities, and not-for-profits.…

It's a wetland, known for its groundwater springs, but the plain is now dry and cracked with holes she explains were once pools. "Before, the Vega was all green," she says. "You couldn't see the animals through the grass. Now everything is dry." She gestures to some grazing llamas.

The clothing industry represents an important part of our economies, with a value of  USD 1.3 trillion and employing over 300 million people along the value chain (Ellen MacArthur Foundation). In the last 20 years, global fibre production has almost doubled from 58 million tonnes in 2000 to 116 million tonnes in 2022, and is expected to continue to grow…

In the Cansayapi community in southwest Minnesota, where Danny Desjarlais grew up amid the bluffs and banks of the Minnesota River valley, housing remains a persistent weight on the tribe. The federally funded housing stock that the 40-year-old construction manager grew up in and around hasn’t changed with the times. Many homes are mold-ridden, some need to be torn down,…

Despite this cognitive dissociation, there is no beating around the math (or hemp stalk) any longer. The textile industry is one of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis, and is largely driven by the petroleum industry, as synthetic petroleum-derived textiles are cheap to produce as a byproduct of fossil fuel extraction. The fossil fuel industry’s depletion and contamination of natural…