We had the task to do a research about a plant which we use to eat. We decided to do a search of a plant which is known mostly as a drug.
Although this plant can be used for about 60'000 different things rarely one knows; one can use it for cooking as a superfood. It isn't just a drug, it is also used in the pharma and textile industry and we find the plant hemp in form of seeds, oil and flour. Hemp is a very healthy plant because it contains a lot of vitamins and mineral nutrients, much protein and a lot of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.
The parts of the plants which are used for cooking are the seeds. Normally, the blossoms aren't used for cooking.
History and origin:
Hemp is adaptable and it grows from the equator to the polar circle. It is spread trough migration over the whole world. The wild plant, the primordial plant was first found in China, Mongolia and Russia. Firstly, they made paper with it and afterwards they started to make a lot of other things, for example ropes and clothes.
Family:
Hemp, also known as Cannabis sativa in Latin, belongs to the family Rosales and Cannabaceae. In this family are over 170 species worldwide.
Food kilometers:
Because hemp is very adaptable, it is possible to grow it all over the world. This means the distance the plant covers isn’t very far. In specific; the legal hemp grows in Switzerland in a few different regions, for example in Zürich Oberland, so it is a very short distance.
Why hemp?
We chose this plant because a lot people think negatively if they hear hemp and the first thought is: drugs. We wanted to change this mindset and show, that this plant has a very high positive impact for us and our environement alltogether. As written above, we can use it for cooking and the seeds are very healthy for our organism because it contains a lot of good ingredients.
Here you will find the sources for:
- Recipes
- History
Authors: Claudia Betschart & Sharon Sommer TZ19