There's a food-tech revolution happening in our supermarkets, and it could change the way we eat forever. From romaine lettuce to curly parsley, salads and herbs are leaving the fields behind to be grown in-store in front of customers' eyes.
Under the glare of artificial light and computer-controlled temperatures, these pioneering plants are part of an ambitious vertical farming project. One that could fundamentally change how fresh food is grown and help dramatically reduce food miles (the distance food travels to get to your plate) and the use of natural resources.
Behind the revolution is Germany-based Infarm, one of a growing number of companies weaving technology and food production together. Supermarkets grow the plants in a modular growing chamber, a bit like a giant fridge, with plants stacked in rows to ceiling height, where they're remotely controlled through a cloud-based and "internet of things" enabled farming platform.
Currently, Infarm supplies more than 700 local "farms" across the world, from The Netherlands to Japan, and harvests in excess of 250,000 plants a month. So far, these farms have saved 2.4 million kilometers of transport, 27 million liters of water and 38,000 square kilometers of land.
Emmanuel Evita is the global communications director at Infarm and he says it's vital to grow fresh produce as close as you can to where it will be consumed because of the environmental burden of agriculture supply chains.
Read more at News EU (Ian Dickson)