Global protein demand is projected to increase by nearly 70% by 2025 (FAO, 2023; Montero et al., 2023) ^[1], driven by population growth and dietary shift towards protein - rich foods. However, this surge raises major sustainability issues related to conventional animal agriculture, including intensive resource use, environmental degradation, and links to chronic health disorders (Rizzo & Baroni, 2023) ^[9]. As a result, hemp seeds (Cannabis sativa L.) have gained attention as a sustainable, plant-based protein source capable of supporting both nutrition and environmental goals (cerino et al., 2021; Apetroaei el al., 2024) ^[3,10].

Hulled hemp seed contain around 25-32% complete protein (Karabulut el al., 2023; El-Sohaimy el al., 202) ^{[2, 5]}, 35% healthy fats rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in a near-ideal 3:1 ratio, and up to 27.5% dietary fibre (Trovato et al., 2023; Kamle et al., 2024) ^{[4, 7]}. Together, these nutrients contribute to improved cardiovascular function, reduced inflammation, better digestion, skin health and overall metabolic support. Environmentally, hemp cultivation is resource-efficient using about 77% less fertilizer, water and pesticides than crops like cotton while improving soil quality and sequestering carbon effectively (Mistry et al., 2025) ^[8].