THE LATEST FROM HEMP - BRAIN FOOD, INDEED

The sip: Hemp Bliss organic hemp milk

The price: $4.99 for a 946-mL carton

The smell: Walnut shells, seed husks and cold oatmeal.

The look: Grey and cloudy, like the sloppy water that's left over
from soaking paintbrushes. In other words, not too appetizing.

The taste: Familiar with soy milk, rice milk or almond milk? This
isn't all that different in texture or flavour. But it is remarkably
creamy, with a pleasant nutty quality that lasts quite long on the
tongue - like a milkshake from a health bar.

The story: The question these days is what can't be made out of hemp?
Clothing, lotions, beer and now this non-dairy "milk" from Manitoba
Harvest, introduced earlier this year in original, vanilla and
chocolate flavours. The Winnipeg-based company also produces
hemp-seed oil, butter and protein powder. Derived from organic hemp
seeds, the beverage is rich in essential fatty acids and is touted as
a breakfast "brain food" that can be imbibed straight, on cereal or
in morning coffee.

The source: Hemp Bliss can be purchased online from
www.manitobaharvest.com. The site also contains recipes for dishes
like hemp burgers, hemp pesto verde and hempy chicken casserole.

The twist: The hemp plant has a more notorious relative in marijuana,
although the psychoactive agent, THC, is much lower - so much lower
that it can be legally grown in Canada. (And no, as the website
points out, you will not get high eating Manitoba Harvest's
products.) That said, its cultivation is banned in the United States,
which means this country is poised to dominate the North American
hemp food market, limited as it might be.