This week's episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast unfolds in three acts, each exploring a different facet of the growing hemp industry — from a café built on hemp-based food, to a hands-on construction training, to a linguistic deep dive into the meaning of the word hemp.
Act 1: A Hemp Café in Mount Pleasant
The show begins with a conversation with longtime hemp entrepreneur Cindy Amick, whose new endeavor is the Planet Hemp Café, which opens June 7 in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.
The café aims to showcase the full potential of hemp in everyday life —from food and drinks to menus, uniforms and even countertops.
The menu centers on edestin protein derived from hemp hearts and used to create hemp-based meats, cheeses, dressings and baked goods. The café is designed to be a prototype for a future franchise model, with plans to expand into Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, using American-grown hemp throughout its operations.
Act 2: Learning Hempcrete, the Hands-On Way
In early May, Americhanvre Cast Hemp hosted a hempcrete workshop at its headquarters in Barto, Pennsylvania. Attendees traveled from around the country to train on the Ereasyy spray-applied hempcrete system, an innovation originally developed in France by Damien Baumer, who was the lead instructor at the workshop. The event highlighted both the technical capabilities of the spray system and the growing interest in hemp-based construction solutions nationwide.
Act 3: Reclaiming the Word "Hemp"
The final act explores the evolving — and sometimes confusing — definition of the word hemp. Drawing from historical texts like Jack Herer's "The Emperor Wears No Clothes," the 1913 USDA Yearbook, and a 1938 Popular Mechanics article, the segment makes a compelling case: historically and agriculturally, hemp has always referred to the fiber and grain parts of the cannabis plant, not the flower or its resin.
The episode argues that lumping intoxicating cannabinoids under the hemp banner dilutes its meaning and undermines the emerging fiber and grain sectors.
As host Eric Hurlock puts it: "If everything is hemp, then nothing is hemp."
Learn more:
Planet Hemp Café
http://planethempcafe.com/
Americhanvre
https://americhanvre.com/
USDA Yearbook 1913 – Hemp by Lyster Dewey (PDF)
https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/IND43743691/PDF
Jack Herer's "The Emperor Wears No Clothes"
https://jackherer.com/thebook
Popular Mechanics (1938): "New Billion-Dollar Crop"
https://hempology.org/PM1938Article.html
News Nuggets:
Ukraine opens major hemp processing facility
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dariosabaghi/2025/05/19/ukraine-launches-largest-industrial-hemp-processing-plant
University of San Diego study: Hemp vs. cotton
https://digital.sandiego.edu/ksb-sscm/10
Victory Hemp Foods expands Kentucky operations
https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/28149-victory-hemp-foods-adds-processing-capacity
Calendar Events
June 20 – PA Fibershed tour at Buck Mason Mill
https://pafibershed.org/events/buckmasontour
June 26–27 – NIHH Hemp Building Workshop – IL
https://nihh.org/
July 15–17 – Global Hemp Fiber Summit – NC
https://globalhempfiber.textiles.ncsu.edu/
Thanks to our Sponsors
HEMI – Hemp Education & Marketing Initiative
https://hempinitiatives.org/
Bish Enterprises – FiberCut Harvester
https://bishenterprise.com/
