It's Time to Optimize the Food Chain

Thanks to tech-savvy farming startups, the future of food could be in your living room.

HYPEBEAST Features - Go in-depth and learn more about the culture. HYPEBEAST Features May 22, 2020 It's Time to Optimize the Food Chain Thanks to tech-savvy farming startups, the future of food could be in your living room. Farmshelf What if you could farm lettuce from the comfort of your couch? Farmshelf’s automated farm home unit is, at three-feet wide, 20-inches deep and five-feet-nine-inches tall, about the size of a refrigerator and can do exactly that. Users plug it in, connect to wi-fi, insert plant pods and fill the water tank occasionally. From there on out, you’re in business. Using cameras and various sensors, Farmshelf monitors the plants’ growth, dosing nutrients and controlling lighting, among other variables. These appliances have already rolled out in restaurants and can be preordered for next year by home consumers at $4,950 USD. Using AI, hydroponics and bio-reactors, scientists and businesses across the world — like Farmshelf — have been finding new ways to grow tastier, healthier food. Models for these sorts of tech-farming come in all forms. Take the Algae Dome masterminded by IKEA’s Denmark-based research and design lab SPACE10. The approximately 13-foot high bio-reactor produces microalgae which can, among other uses, be used in biofuel research and as a potential replacement for soy protein in animal feed. “Yes, some new ways of approaching food can look a little like science fiction,” said Simon Perez, chef and food designer at SPACE10. “But we found that as long as the food itself tastes good, people are open and willing to try something new.” Countless start-ups and research labs have also turned their attention toward “controlled environment agriculture” in an effort to address the inadequacies in the global food chain. These companies are finding ways to farm smarter, faster and more locally — and inspire young people to do it. Farmshelf In the words of Tobias Peggs, CEO of Brooklyn-based urban indoor farming company Square Roots: “The demographic time bomb is about to go off.” The average age of U.S. farmers is almost 60. In Japan, it’s closer to 70. “There’s a real need to get young people into the farming industry, but young people would probably prefer to be in the city, working in tech-enabled businesses,” Peggs said. As with startups in fashion, these new companies are trying to combat wasteful practices across the current system. Traditional modes of farming rely heavily on large quantities of water and pesticides, not to mention the single-use plastics and emissions from transportation resulting from the fact that many foods are grown only in specific regions. Some new ways of approaching food can look a little like science fiction. Peggs pointed to the fact that 98 percent of lettuces produced in the U.S. come from California and Arizona. “Why would you grow it in an area where there’s already a water shortage, then ship it across the country, during which time a lot of it is wasted, and rots on the way? The cost of the transport, not to mention the environmental impact is crazy. But you don’t need to do that.” In nondescript shipping containers housed on a Brooklyn lot, Square Roots creates finely tuned “programmable climate zones” which replicate the environments where the best produce in the world thrives, down to temperature profile, humidity and CO2 levels. Their basil is grown hydroponically in a climate-matched environment for the Genoa region of northwest Italy in zones that could hypothetically be located anywhere — an approach which could bring high-quality, low-cost, local food to communities around the world. READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON HYPEBEAST → More HYPEBEAST Features FOOTWEAR How To Tie-Dye Your Socks With Sammy Jo Alonso TECH Behind the HYPE: How Hasselblad Became the Camera for Space Exploration Get The App Free on iOS and Android Follow 2020 HYPEBEAST Limited. All Rights Reserved Manage Subscriptions You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to HYPEBEAST's marketing emails. You can unsubscribe from us any time by clicking here. It may take 48 hours to complete the unsubscribe process. Contact subscription@hypebeast.com for assistance on any enquiries. Our Mailing Address: HYPEBEAST, 10F, KC 100, 100 Kwai Cheong Road, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong