other key brands about how they too (for example) can turn their natural bread into a hemp bread. This worked also, and I helped create the first non-dairy hemp milk, hemp ice cream, hemp pasta, hemp sauces, numerous other hemp snack bars, hemp breakfast cereals, hemp breads, and much more. Shortly after, I wrote and completed
a 300-page book on food, nutrition, natural healing, permaculture, and how they are all connected, published by London’s Vision Paperbacks. It was to be the first of 9 (yes, a special number to me) books I have now authored and translated into numerous languages. Late in 1999 I was head hunted to
bring my knowledge of hemp foods to Australia. I had visited once before and loved its geography. Hemp was only just starting to be grown there and I was told that hemp foods would soon be legalised. I developed new snack bars, ice creams, pasta and sauces, and discussed the production of hemp milk with one of Australia’s leading producers. I had even pre-sold some of these products, based on legislative support of hemp foods, to the major supermarkets. I was all set and waiting for hemp legislation to be approved when it was knocked back.
A 17-YEAR JOURNEY This was to be the first of three applications to allow hemp as a food in Australia over the next 17 years. It has been 17 years of which I have spent a long and hard time watching my
international friends be very successful while I found myself in the only country that did not allow hemp as a food. During those 17 years I wrote more
books, trained others globally to be successful business leaders, managed a health resort (9 months – the only time I have every worked outside of the hemp industry), created a hemp bioplastics business, supported hemp building projects, and travelled as a lead speaker at conferences in Europe, Asia, and more. It was not until I noticed people
starting to import low quality hemp seeds to Australia and sell them at high prices in 2012 that I decided to import high quality hemp seeds and sell them at the best price possible for the consumer. Within three months this evolved from a business in my garage to a small warehouse and now to a state-of-the art hemp foods processing facility designed and built in the Byron Shire of NSW that produces 100% Australian certified organic hemp seeds, hemp oil, hemp protein, and flour. We have also developed a skincare range, but that has recently stalled due to more restrictive Australian legislation (we hope this will soon be overcome).
A BRIGHT GREEN FUTURE FOR AUSTRALIA All of our products in Australia and New Zealand have been sold for external use only – you must rub them on your body. I have no idea why so many people do this in Australia, but they do
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it seems (I have to guess what they do in their own homes). We now export to every continent on our planet and have won awards for innovation, export, employment, and business acumen. We also process other Australian growers' crops, sell OEM and have a strong R&D team. Our superstar team includes national farming managers that ensure Australian farmers are educated on how to grow and supply sustainable organic hemp seeds. We intend for Australia to become the largest certified organic hemp seed grower in the world, which is no easy task after the Canadian and Chinese who have had decades of a head start. For now the future is bright (green),
and due to the recent Australian legislation to allow hemp as a food we are now seeing a much wider distribution channel opening up which includes manufacturers of other foods. So expect to see snack bars, cereals, milks, and much more on the shelf of your local store soon. Everyone can make a difference by
following their dreams, choosing where they spend their hard-earned money, and sharing the positive news. ■
Connect with other readers & comment on this article at
www.livingnow.com.au
Paul Benhaim is a pioneer of the hemp food industry globally, CEO of Hemp Foods Australia and founder of Elixinol, a medical
cannabis company.
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