HEMP SEED: PERFECT FOR THE MUNCHIES

Hemp seed, long a food source in Europe and Asia, has undergone a
resurgence in North America in the last five years.

Outlawed in Canada in 1938 because of its association with marijuana,
the THC-loving plant of the same species, hemp has made a comeback
thanks in part to Health Canada, which put new regulations in place in
March this year that allowed for its commercial cultivation.

Mama Indica's, a division of the B.C.-based Northern Lights Hemp Co.,
makes seven different hemp seed treats and distributes its products
throughout Canada and the U.S.

Roasted hemp seeds taste a little like sunflower seeds with the shell
still on. That's why it's probably best that the company makes them
with different flavourings including sea salt, cajun, and an eastern
mix.

They're also small, and so don't make for the best finger food, apt as
they are to slip through your fingers. You may want to try the
company's granola-type bars, which contain hemp seed and other nuts
and are held together with honey and brown sugar.

Ron Shaul, the company's owner, says his business is growing in leaps
and bounds. It's increased 75 per cent each year since he's owned it.

Part and parcel of the hemp rebirth is the fact that hemp seed is good
for you. The seed, which is 22 per cent protein, produces much higher
quality oil than flax seed and contains essential fatty acids.

Hemp oil is one of the best balanced and most nutritional for human
use.

It's also THC-free. (THC is the active ingredient in marijuana.)

But during harvesting, the seed can sometimes be contaminated by the
parts of the plant that do contain the hallucinogen.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry