The Green Rocket

1. Can you introduce yourself and give a little background information on Manitoba Harvest?

Hello, my name is Mike Fata, I’m President and Co-Founder of Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils. The personal health challenges I faced more than a decade ago led me down the ‘hemp path,’ and I have been fortunate to be able to make a career out of my passion for promoting this nutritious and eco-friendly plant.

In 1994, I was 18 and weighed more than 300 pounds. I tried the fat-free diet that was a popular fad in that era and started losing weight, but I was shocked to find that my overall health was steadily deteriorating to the point of being seriously ill. To make a long story short…I did some research and found out that the body needs a set of good fats called essential fatty acids, and in particular the EFA called omega-3. The fat-free diet I was on was depleting me of these critical nutrients.

A friend introduced me to hemp, which I learned through continued self education, is a balanced vegetable source of essential fatty acids, essential amino acids (protein), vitamins, minerals and soluble and insoluble fiber. I incorporated hemp foods into my healthy diet and exercise program, and over the next 2 to 3 years I was able to slim down to 185 pounds–a fit weight and lifestyle that I still maintain today.

From this life-changing experience, I learned that hemp has so much potential to help other people in their quest for a healthier lifestyle. Shortly after my fight with obesity, I met Alex Chwaiewsky and Martin Moravcik who were lobbying the Canadian Government to legalize hemp seed agriculture in Manitoba. We all were concerned about the declining economics of farming in Manitoba, and we had shared high hopes that sustainable hemp agriculture could help the local economy and make a real change globally.

In 1998, when Health Canada legalized industrial hemp, we teamed up with 20 local farmers that became shareholders in the company we named Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils. Our team attracted additional investors, we bought a cold press from Sweden and began producing nutritious hemp seed oil which we supplied to many local stores. We focused our energy on direct grassroots interaction with customers through consumer shows and in-store demos. Educating consumers, retailers and nutritionists about the health benefits of hemp foods has been our company’s main focus from day one and is a strength that endures today.

2. Where can people find out more info you your company and where can they find your products selling?

Manitoba Harvest produces four varieties of Hemp Bliss organic hempmilk, organic cold-pressed Hemp Seed Oil, Shelled Hemp Seed, Hemp Seed Butter, Organic Dark Chocolate and Organic Vanilla Hemp Protein Powders, Hemp Protein Powder and Hemp Protein & Fiber Powder. We also sell hemp ingredients to a growing number of cosmetic companies, as well as food manufacturers that make waffles, bread, frozen desserts, cookies, pasta, salad dressings, protein powders, energy bars and sauces. To learn more about Manitoba Harvest and hemp, please visit www.manitobaharvest.com.

Manitoba Harvest products are widely available throughout the U.S. and Canada at a wide variety of retail stores including independent natural health food stores, mainstream grocery chains, vitamin stores, and natural foods chains such as Whole Foods Markets. You can look for a store near you at http://www.manitobaharvest.com/company/storesus.asp . We also partner quite a bit with chefs, and we sell products in bulk to leading health food restaurants and smoothie shops. So if you are having a delicious drink or meal with hemp as an ingredient there is a good chance it came from us.

3. When people think of hemp, the obvious comes to mind. Can you tell us a little about hemp foods and the misconception it undoubtedly brings to the minds of consumers?

One of our biggest challenges over the years has been educating the public and policymakers that industrial hemp is not a drug, does not have psychoactive properties, and contains only undetectable amounts of THC, far less than the content of opium in poppy seeds.

It is a superfood–and tastes great, too. It is ironic, because industrial hemp has been utilized extensively by cultures around the world for thousands of years. Over the past millennium, hemp has been a versatile commercial plant that has been enjoyed as a nutritious food, a strong and versatile textile, a popular paper fiber and as a nourishing cosmetic ingredient. More than 25,000 products can be made from hemp, making it the world’s most versatile plant.

Our focus is on hemp foods, and since people consume the foods directly, that leads to the question of intoxication. The answer is easy, there is no detectable THC drug in our hemp foods, so even if you ate a truckload of our hemp seed, you would not get a buzz. Hemp agriculture is regulated pretty closely in Canada, and the system works pretty well, so it’s unfortunate that it remains illegal to grow industrial hemp in the United States and other parts of the world.

We have spent a lot of time and energy trying to change hemp’s misunderstood reputation and image. We have even had to fight legal battles in court to uphold the name of hemp and to keep our products on store shelves. Although we still hear weed-related jokes from people, it is amazing how over the last decade the pot joke silliness is waning. People are starting to know hemp for its health attributes and flavor more than its relationship to marijuana. But this issue remains a challenge today, and that is why we continue our grassroots approach to ‘take the product to the streets’ to meet people and educate them first-hand.

Rather than talk about hemp’s relationship to marijuana, we focus on the many impressive nutrition and flavor attributes. People are finding out that hemp foods are extremely nutritious–and then they try them and discover that they have a great flavor and gourmet appeal. Nutrition experts tout hemp foods due to their balanced and high concentration of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids, strong digestible protein profile, soluble and insoluble fiber content, and their vitamins and minerals.

Hemp seed foods offer the richest source of the Omega 3 & 6 Essential Fatty Acids and hemp’s overall protein content is comparable to soy beans without containing hormone inhibitors, and is higher than that found in nuts, other seeds, meats, dairy products, fish and poultry. Hemp is also a plentiful and rare plant source of the “super omega-6” EFA called gamma-linolenic acid (GLA).

4. Moving on to non-dairy alternatives–What are the health benefits for consumers who decide to switch over to hemp milks?

Consumer demand for dairy milk alternatives has been growing for many years due to vegetarian preferences and concerns about dietary sensitivities to dairy, growth hormones in dairy milks, and issues associated with dairy production. Some people simply don’t enjoy the flavor of dairy milk and find that they can gain nutrition by tastier means.

To meet this market demand, we created Hemp Bliss, the first line of organic hempmilks. It stands out from the herd of other dairy milk alternatives including soy, rice and almond because it has a strong nutrition profile, a pleasant flavor and texture and it does not raise concerns regarding food sensitivities. Many people are sensitive to nuts, including almonds. Others have trouble with sensitivity to soy or are concerned about soy agriculture. Rice milk is like hemp in that it is not known as an allergy irritant; however, it doesn’t offer as strong a nutrition profile as hemp–and rice milks typically contain an abundance of sugar and sweeteners.

Overall, Hemp Bliss provides a superior nutrition profile than the other non-dairy alternatives. Most noteworthy are the 1,200 mg of omega-3 essential fatty acids and 5 grams of protein in each serving. Overall, Hemp Bliss offers the richest source of Omega 3, 6 and 9 essential fats. It does not contain synthetic vitamins & minerals, additives, preservatives and artificial flavors and it is Lactose-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free, Rice-Free, Gluten-Free and cholesterol-free.

5. What is your company doing to help spread the word on your products?

We focus our marketing resources on direct interaction at dozens of events and in-store demonstrations that can reach more than 250,000 people annually. We practice grassroots and lifestyle marketing where sampling and interaction inspires retailers and customers to spread their hemp food experiences by word-of-mouth to their friends. It is a viral sort of thing. We also do a lot of co-marketing with like-minded healthy food and drink companies.

In 2005, we established the Power Foods Group, a co-marketing initiative with several other companies including Sambazon Acai and Guayaki Yerba Mate. The Power Foods Group also currently includes Amazing Grass superfoods and Big Tree Farms, and the Group shares resources on ads, show booths, event sponsorships, product demonstrations and communications. This gets more bang-for-the-buck, magnifies our common social missions, creates a larger, fun lifestyle vibe, and uses our combined cultural appeal to cross-educate customers.

6. What benefits do your products offer on a “green perspective”?

Hemp farming is one of the finest examples of sustainable agriculture because it is naturally pest-resistant so pesticides are not used, and because hemp plants grow rapidly and close together, they crowd out weeds and don’t need herbicides. Hemp is also a soil-building plant that is excellent for crop rotation. Its strong roots anchor the soil to prevent erosion and the leaves return nitrogen to the soil. Hemp cultivation generates virtually no waste and its byproducts are commercially useful.

Dedication to sustainable agriculture is a key part of Manitoba Harvest’s success. We are proud to be converting conventional farmers to organic agriculture, rather than just moving organic farmers of other crops over to organic hemp. We have taken a steady, education-oriented approach to expanding organic hemp agriculture in Manitoba, and farmers are really catching on to the environmental and economic benefits.

7. What other comments have you received from your consumers?

We receive lots of testimonials from customers about how our hemp foods have been a life changer for them, and due to my own experience with obesity, it strikes a chord every time I read one of the letters. Those personal experiences and letters really help to motivate our whole team.

8. I noticed a bunch of recipes on your website. Is there one in particular that you’d like to recommend to the readers at TheGreenRocket.com?

Many of Manitoba Harvest’s favorite recipes are a healthy hemp twist of dip, snack and spread classics. Why have a simple pesto dinner when you can make Hemp Pesto Verde and obtain the protein and EFAs that shelled hemp seed and hemp seed oil have to offer? Hemp seed oil’s beautiful emerald green color enhances the visual appeal of pesto.

HEMP PESTO VERDE

Prep Time:
5 min.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Manitoba Harvest Hemp Seed Oil
3 Tbsp Manitoba Harvest Organic Hemp Seed
1/8 cup organic lemon juice
1/2 cup organic walnuts or pine nuts
2 pinches of salt
1 clove garlic (optional)
1 cup organic basil leaves

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except Hemp Seed Nut in a food processor or Vita-mixer. Blend until finely chopped. Do not puree. Place in a serving dish and sprinkle the Hemp Seed Nut on top.

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