http://www.mauldineconomics.com/connecting-the-dots/souped-up-food-production-the-next-big-thing#
It appears to be getting closer. From the February 13 edition of the Wall Street Journal:
In a renovated warehouse by San Francisco Bay, plastic towers sprouting heads of lettuce, arugula, and herbs rise 20 feet to the ceiling, illuminated by multicolored LED lights that give the room a futuristic feel.
A group of tech entrepreneurs and investors including billionaires Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt are betting this facility, 100 miles north of California’s “salad bowl” produce-farming epicenter, can redefine how vegetables and fruits are grown for local consumption.
If all goes to plan, the 51,000-square-foot warehouse run by startup Plenty United Inc. will yield as much as 3 million pounds of leafy greens each year. In the coming months, the company plans to begin marketing produce bred for local tables rather than shipping durability.
This is a prototype operation, still a long way from being feasible at scale. The article reviews some of the challenges. But if it works, the economic consequences will be staggering.
http://www.mauldineconomics.com/connecting-the-dots/souped-up-food-production-the-next-big-thing#
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