HemperFi

Last June, the Tasmanian Health Minister made Australian history by issuing the first permit that allows the use of hemp in a food product. It's a small, but very significant step, particularly given that the license is only valid for dog food. Ian Rochfort, a part-time paramedic and geese farmer, is no stranger to hemp...he's been feeding his geese hempseed for years. “The geese loved it, and they grew on it beautifully,” Rochfort is quoted as saying in The Veterinarian.

Looks like Australia lags behind the Europe and North America on industrial hemp legislation and commercialization. There are some good signs. The Australia and New Zealand Food Advisory Committee has recommended that the Australian federal government legalize the use of hemp in human food, but so far, there's been little in the way of legislation. There is a growing list of Australian states that have -at some poin in the past 20 years- held industrial hemp trials. They include, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, but not, the Northern Territory. Of these, Victoria has the most progressive industrial hemp laws, which allow commercial cultivation. Of course, without a market, the total acreage is less that 100 hectacres per year.

By the way, Rochfort has posted a somewhat uninspiring "Why Hemp?" treatise...consisting of largely chemical analysis of hemp seed. If you were wondering what exactly was in hemp seed, Rochfort's one-page-site tells all.