Hemp History

A brief look into some of the past ‘hemp events’

4500 B.C - Hemp was used in China for ropes and fishing nets. Later it was also used for paper, cloth, food, and oil.

1776 - The Declaration of Independence draft was written on paper made from hemp.

1791 - George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp.

1928 - The Canadian House of Commons encouraged the growth of hemp with historical evidence that it was the right crop for the western provinces.

1941 - Henry Ford developed a car that ran on Hemp Ethanol fuel and the doors were even made of hemp fiber as the plant was 4x stronger than metal.

1957 - Last time the United States grew hemp.

1994 - With special licensing, Manitoba Harvest Co-Founder Martin Moravcik worked with local Manitoba government and farmers to plant the first ‘hemp trial’ field in modern times.

1998 - Hemp was legalized in Canada and Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils was born.

1999 - North Dakota, Minnesota, and Hawaii legalized the growing of industrial hemp at state level. Other states are urging the federal government to allow it. The USA is the world's largest importer of industrial hemp products but cannot grow hemp because of a federal ban.

Today - 17 states are legal to grow hemp at state level; however, there is a federal law against it. Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils still continues to be the largest farmer owned, vertically integrated hemp food manufacturer on the plant. We are proud to be offering the freshest and highest quality staple hemp food products in the world.