Over the past year, our research team has made significant progress in exploring the potential of hemp as a sustainable and nutritious crop for Scotland. Now in its third year, the project has successfully met all its goals, delivering impactful results across agriculture, food innovation, environmental sustainability, and public engagement.

We completed a comprehensive analysis of hemp seeds harvested over three consecutive years (2021–2023) from farms across Northeast Scotland. This work helped us identify the best-performing hemp varieties suited to Scottish conditions and our findings and recommendations were shared in an Executive Summary to the Scottish Government (RESAS).

Our food developmental work demonstrated how hemp seeds-based ingredients can be transformed into everyday foods that are both healthy and appealing. We have developed:

• Hemp oil with an extended shelf life,

• Hemp bread rich in protein, fibre, and essential minerals,

• Hemp milk, a nutritious and sustainable alternative to dairy.

These staple food products were designed to meet the nutritional needs of the Scottish population while offering more sustainable food choices. The results were summarised in a second policy brief report to RESAS in late 2024.

We also conducted a consumer study to understand how people in Scotland feel about incorporating hemp into their diets. The study focused on staple foods like bread, oil, and milk. The final report, due later in 2025, will offer insights into public acceptance, furthermore, informing food industry on how best to introduce these products to the market.

A major milestone this year was the launch of a nutrition intervention study comparing the health and environmental benefits of a hemp-based (low carbon footprint diet) versus a traditional high-carbon diet. The study is still underway, and early results show that hemp can effectively replace high-emission foods in a typical Scottish diet, helping reduce our carbon footprint without compromising nutrition.

We actively shared our findings from the past three years through 24 knowledge exchange events, including workshops, open days, TV interviews (BBC breakfast show), and public talks. These events helped raise awareness of hemp’s potential across sectors, from farming and food production to health and sustainability.

In addition, we completed three smaller research projects funded through additional grants. These innovative projects offer real-world solutions for Scottish farmers and food producers, supporting a more circular and resilient food system, by:

-Using hemp seed by-products as a sustainable poultry feed, replacing imported soya,

-Turning hemp straw into a growing medium for soft fruits, replacing imported coir,

-Developing functional food ingredients from hemp.

This past year, we also launched new collaborations:

-With the NHS, exploring hemp-based solutions for gut health and reducing reliance on imported fibres, and the use of hemp fibre for cancer research.

-Expanding and strengthening a European research network involving five countries, aimed at securing future funding for hemp innovation.

Furthermore, our work has been recognised with two poster prizes: one for our farmer led three years hemp seed trial and another for research on hemp’s positive impact on soil health. We also received the University of Aberdeen Principal’s Excellence Award for Research with Impact, highlighting the real-world value of our work.

Our research therefore shows that hemp can thrive in Scotland and produce seeds rich in oil and protein. This opens new opportunities for local farmers and food businesses, reducing reliance on imports of plant-based protein sources and supporting a greener economy. Furthermore, we have proven that hemp ingredients can be used to create tasty, nutritious foods that help meet Scotland’s dietary needs. From bread and milk to poultry feed and fruit-growing materials, hemp offers a sustainable alternative that benefits both people and the planet. Looking and planning forward, hemp continues to emerge as a powerful tool for building a healthier, more sustainable future for Scotland, across agriculture, food, health, and the environment.

The three-year hemp seed sample collection from farmers in NE Scotland growing hemp seed has been completed and the nutritional and chemical characteristics have been assessed and found to be excellent. This study carried out over three years of harvest was performed to understand how location or specific agricultural practices could influence the quality and crop yield. Click here for the summary report.

Hemp protein and fibre rich components (mainly hemp food by-products) have been incorporated into staple foods such as bread and dairy alternatives as part of work to understand the potential of hemp to deliver dietary requirements in terms of protein, omega fatty acids, dietary fibre and minerals. The aim is to promote green food production helping to address problems in sustainable and food-secure nutrition. The hemp bread is being used in the consumer study in year 3.

The consumer study (Acceptance of hemp-based foods) will assess Scottish people’s acceptance towards hemp food and specifically, consumer acceptance towards hemp oil, hemp milk, and hemp bread. The study has received ethical approval ensuring that it is scientifically robust and will be run to the highest standards for safety and integrity. It will be completed in the next project year (2024-2025).

This year we have organised and/or participated in 20 KE events promoting RESAS funded hemp research, covering all aspects of research and the implications it has on environment, agriculture, nutrition and health. We have organised workshops, attended events and open days, and taken  part in interviews and podcasts, as well as visiting schools and speaking to the public to translate and educate all the aspects and benefits this crop has on everyone's life.

Furthermore, we have secured additional UKRI funding (over £400,000) for several projects to investigate complementary aspects of current RESAS funded hemp research including 1) the potential as feed, 2) reduction of hemp agricultural waste and 3) implementing hemp as an ingredient in the Scottish diet. This will directly benefit Scottish farmers, the Scottish economy and the Scottish people by addressing societal and environmental problems and offering solutions and opportunities.

This year we have also initiated a pilot study to deliver evidence on hemp benefits to soil and to supporting hemp as a potential rotational crop for Scottish agriculture.

Finally, this year we have been the finalists and the winners of Green Gown award (for Research with Impact), where the hemp research and KE was recognised at a national level for Regenerating Scotland's hemp industry for health, climate, and a green economy.

Relevant publications:

Exploiting Underutilised crops (2023) – a review published in Food Science & Technology by Madi Neacsu and Sylvia Duncan

Scottish grown hempseed is a rich source of protein (20-30%), fat (24-31%) and dietary fibre (14%). The work from the 2021 harvest growing trial provided information to Scottish farmers on what is the best variety to grow in Scotland for seed and oil production; this was based on protein and fat content of several varieties analysed. The farmers chose to take forward the Finola variety for 2022 and 2023 trials.

In the first year of this project, we collected and analysed hempseed from the two harvests and grown by 10 farmers in the NE of Scotland. We characterised the nutritional and chemical analysis of the hemp food produced (hemp oil) and its by-products such as hemp cake and fudge.

Based on this research, cold pressed hemp oil was commercially produced and sold in Scotland for the first time in the summer of 2022. Our research showed that hemp oil is a superior source of nutrition in comparison with olive and rapeseed oil, being rich in healthy fats such as omega-3, -6 and -9 fatty acids; 71-77% of the oil is omega-6 and omega-3 acids in a ratio approx. 3:1, ideal for human nutrition. Only 10 g of Scottish hemp oil delivers 2 g of omega 3, which is recommended for maintaining normal blood cholesterol levels. Therefore, it is ideal for consumption as a table oil.

In addition, we have found that hemp oil by-products especially the hemp flour could be used for flour wheat fortification due to their rich mineral content and for food reformulation as it is a rich source of nutrients such as protein, dietary fibre and healthy fats.

In the past year, we have engaged, organised or run 19 different KE events, from stakeholders’ interactions, school activities, science festivals, workshops, agricultural shows to media interviews and article and scientific conferences. This is to raise impact and communicate the Scottish Government funded research at national and international level; to educate school pupils and the general public on research findings related to sustainable food crops and healthy nutrition.

Publications and other outputs

• Hemp and buckwheat are valuable sources of dietary amino acids, beneficially modulating gastrointestinal hormones and promoting satiety in healthy volunteers | European Journal of Nutrition (springer.com) (2021) paper published in Eur. J of Nutr. by Neacsu et al.
• Applied Sciences | Free Full-Text | Bioprocessing of Hempseed (Cannabis sativa L.) Food By-Products Increased Nutrient and Phytochemical In Vitro Bioavailability during Digestion and Microbial Fermentation (mdpi.com) (2023) published in Appl. Sci. by Fan et al.
• Nutraceuticals | Free Full-Text | Buckwheat, Fava Bean and Hemp Flours Fortified with Anthocyanins and Other Bioactive Phytochemicals as Sustainable Ingredients for Functional Food Development (mdpi.com) (2022) published in Nutraceuticals by Neacsu et al.