Hemp Vs Cotton

The title, hemp vs cotton, almost sounds like the names of two boxers in an upcoming heavy weight boxing match. In a very real sense that is exactly what it is. You see hemp would be the hands on favorite if its hands were tied behind its back.

Let me explain. Hemp and hemp products are legal to own but growing hemp is illegal at least in the United States. You can buy all kinds of hemp products but you can’t grow the plant itself unless you have special permission from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Cotton, on the other hand, is perfectly legal to grow. All you need is the acreage, water supply and pesticides. Of course, and hemp is no different, you will need someone or the proper equipment to harvest it.

Here is where the hemp vs cotton fight gets interesting. Hemp uses about 2/3rd’s less water than cotton and none or very little pesticides. Hemp is renewable each year on its own and makes the best rotational crop known to man.

Cotton cannot come close to replicating these three hemp attributes. And, it doesn’t even try. It doesn’t have to because it is legal to grow and hemp is not. Hence, hemp vs cotton is not a fair fight out of the gate.

Hemp produces more product per acre and more product from its parts. Hurds and basts are not familiar names to anyone outside of the industry but they are the two components of hemp next to the seed that give mankind over 25000 products.

In addition, the U.S. government has a patent on hemp but they call it industrial hemp. The patent number is 6630507 and is readily accessible through your favorite search engine. If you decide to download a copy of this patent pay close attention to what the government scientists and researchers say about its potential to cure Alzheimer’s, dementia and cancer.

In hemp vs cotton, the government has no patent on cotton and makes absolutely no claims cotton has any properties or abilities to cure anything. In fact, the government has research papers showing how much water cotton uses and how much pesticide, insecticide and herbicide it takes to grow an acre of cotton.

The government also tells you that this very same pesticide, insecticide and herbicide contaminates ground water and nearby lakes. That information too is readily available by doing a search in your favorite search engine. This author has researched these facts and found them staggering.

In fact, if the playing field was level, the hemp vs cotton fight wouldn’t be a heavy weight fight, it would be a super heavy weight fight. And, cotton would lose hands down.

I am not saying cotton isn’t a useful fiber. It is. I am saying that in a hemp vs cotton brawl hemp would win. It is 3 times stronger than cotton and lasts 6 times longer than cotton.

It is a naturally wicking fiber and odor resistant. These two attributes make hemp a winner in anyone’s eyes. By the way, like cotton, hemp, if smoked, cannot get you high. It does not contain the psychotropic chemical THC.

You can bake it in any food stuff you wish and you still won’t get high. It isn’t grown to do that. It is grown to make over 25000 products that benefit mankind and the environment. Hemp vs cotton would be a very dull fight indeed.