With so many CBD products on the market, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed while looking for a quality product. Besides third-party testing or a certificate of analysis, another thing that’s helpful to look for while shopping is whether or not the CBD product is. CBD products offer another degree of safety, as they should be free of harmful pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
What is Farming?
Farming is a method where farmers do not use pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics, or growth hormones. Really, the main goal is to create a well-balanced biodiverse system, while minimizing soil degradation and pollution. The exact practices will depend on the farm’s location. However, there are some practices that are pretty consistent across the board. One of the main tenants of farming is crop diversity. By growing multiple crops, farmers are better able to supports a wide array of beneficial insects and soil microorganisms. These microorganisms are especially key to farming because healthy living soil is necessary to make sure plants receive enough nutrients. To ensure their soil is healthy, farmers typically use natural materials like manure, green manure (crops that are grown and then added back to the soil to improve quality), or bone meal. Pests are typically controlled with biological methods like introducing predator insects into the environment or inter-cropping. Some farmers might incorporate integrated pest management programs to minimize their environmental impact.
Rather than completely eliminating weeds, farmers try to suppress weeds below a level of economic damage using natural methods. Farmers will suppress weeds by tilling their soil, cutting weeds, or mulching with materials or plastic. Essentially, the main goal is to minimize the number of synthetic additions to the environment while growing a thriving crop.
Why Practice Farming?
One of the main reasons people chose to practice farming is because it tends to be better for the environment. Like we mentioned above, the main goal of farming to maintain a natural, well-balanced environment. To do this, farmers must work with their own natural environment and make sure their grow works within in it, which ultimately proves to be better for both the farmer and the environment.
As climate science continues to advance, more and more research shows that the climate is changing in response to increased levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Did you know the earth’s soil contains carbon? In fact, soil contains about 3.1 times more carbon than the atmosphere and is responsible for removing about 25% of the world’s fossil fuel emissions each year. Puts a focus on maintaining healthy soil, especially Mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizal fungi have a symbiotic relationship ship with plants, eating sugars from their roots while supplying water and nutrients. You might be wondering what’s so great about these fungi? Well, a recent study has shown that this root fungus contains about 50-70% of the carbon found in soil. By facilitating the fungi’s growth, farmers are simultaneously increasing the soil’s carbon capture ability.
Beyond influencing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, farming methods also reduce the amount of fertilizer that might pollute waterways as well as exposure to harmful herbicides and pesticides, which have been linked to things like cancer, ADHD, among other things.
Why Buy CBD ?
CBD is an excellent choice for consumers looking to minimize their environmental impact. But that isn’t the only reason to buy CBD. CBD is a simple way to make sure you’re not putting any toxins or harmful chemicals into your body. Hemp plants are great at phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is the process by which hemp plants remove contaminants from the soil and groundwater and absorb them into their tissues. That means, if there are fertilizers or pesticides being used on the plant, they will most likely be in the plant material as well. That’s why we recommend purchasing CBD made from hemp. That way you can be sure your only body’s only getting the good stuff.
All in all, we think we can confidently say hemp farming is good for you and the planet. Here at BFF, we believe in walking our talk. We practice farming techniques and always use ingredients in our products, as well as hemp straight from our farm in sunny Colorado. If you’re interested in trying CBD for yourself, check out our full line of products.