ON SUPERMARKET SHELVES, HEMP IS THE NEW SOY

It Is Showing Up In Energy Bars, Waffles, Veggie Burgers And Pizza

VICTORIA - Fashion runways aren't the only places you can spot trends.
You can also find them strolling down supermarket aisles.

The latest one offered up by the food industry is hemp. Fans say hemp
is poised to become the new soy, and if Vitamin Shop customer Joanie
Anderson is any indication, they might be right.

"I used to use soy in my morning shake, but I read on the Internet
that it might interfere with my thyroid medication so I switched to
hemp," says Anderson.

Hemp has been around for years -- as far back as 8,000 BC. But most
consumers associate it with textiles, not with food, but not any more.
Hemp's latest incarnation as the base for many nutritious food
products is creating renewed interest in the plant and changing its
controversial image. Hemp is showing up in a dizzying array of
products -- waffles, energy bars, veggie burgers, pizza, bread, salad
dressings and ice cream, to name a few.

Once maligned and even banned due to an incorrect association with its
distant, mind-altering cousin marijuana, hemp has shed much of its
illicit cachet -- in Canada at least. "Many U.S. grocery chains still
shy away from buying products that contain hemp," says David Neuman,
vice-president of sales and marketing for Richmond-based Nature's Path
Foods. "Within Canada, this is much less of an issue. Most consumers
in both the health and mainstream channels understand the benefits of
hemp. Our HempPlus Granola is our No. 1-selling granola in Canada."

There is, in fact, no scientific cause for concern about hemp. The
industrial hemp grown in Canada is grown from specially bred cannabis
seeds, regulated by Health Canada, that contain undetectable levels of
THC -- the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

"You couldn't get high if you smoked an acre of it," laughs Richard
Plotnikoff, director of the Canadian Hemp Corp. Based in Sidney,
Plotnikoff's company produces hemp oil, hemp nuts (hulled hemp seeds)
and OmegaHemp energy bars. In addition, CHC educates prospective
farmers about the cultivation of hemp and guides them through the
regulation process with Health Canada.

Like Neuman, Plotnikoff is impressed by the hemp-friendly attitude in
Canada, and particularly Victoria. "Hemp is becoming so mainstream
here we've got 90-year-old grandmothers buying our OmegaHemp bars."

Plotnikoff adds that sales are stronger at the Victoria Health Show
than at other shows, demonstrating that the residents are particularly
health conscious.

Janet Bol, manager of Planet Organic, says, "People like the nutty,
crunchy flavour of hemp nuts [shelled seeds]. Customers put them on
salads, in yogurt, on their cereal and they enjoy the slightly nutty,
rich flavour of the oil too. It makes great salad dressing."

Perhaps the item creating the biggest buzz within the hemp industry
and among consumers is hemp protein powder. With mad cow disease,
Avian Bird Flu, PCBs in fish and genetically altered soy all making
headlines, it's not surprising that people are looking for safe,
healthy protein alternatives.

Proponents say they'll find just what they're looking for in hemp. The
edible portion of hemp -- the shelled seed -- is an excellent source
of protein. Its overall protein content of 34.6 grams per 100 grams is
comparable to that of soybeans and better than that found in nuts,
other seeds and dairy products.

Most of the hemp grown in Canada comes from the Prairies, but
Plotnikoff has had farmers from the Comox Valley express interest in
growing the hard plant.