[ajiang]

This is an oversimplification of why aeroponics or any form of hydroponics is great. A few of the most notable benefits:

1) Growing density - you use a lot less square footage by growing up!

2) Can grow anywhere - you control a ton of the variables due to setup indoors away from weather conditions, indoor lights, control of water and nutrients, etc.

3) The ability to very carefully fine tune the end product due to a large number of controllable inputs into the growing process (rather than spreading nutrients and water over large acres of land)

[antisthenes]

> 1) Growing density - you use a lot less square footage by growing up!

Yes, but all of that square footage is inside the building, which cost money to construct and operate, in addition to capital costs of constructing the multi-tiered farm and wiring it with LEDs

> 2) Can grow anywhere

Yes...anywhere...inside a heated building. Even if the LEDs used provide some degree of heating, some sort of HVAC to regulate temperatures must still be employed. I'd imagine you wouldn't use an unheated warehouse in Canada during winter.

> 3) The ability to very carefully fine tune the end product due to a large number of controllable inputs into the growing process

Probably the only real advantage. It also makes ramping up to demand somewhat easier, since the growth time is shorter.

However, make no mistake - so far these are low calorie greens at a luxury price.

[pm90]

> Yes, but all of that square footage is inside the building, which cost money to construct and operate, in addition to capital costs of constructing the multi-tiered farm and wiring it with LEDs

Operating a modern western farm requires all of that too. Do you think farmland has no capital costs? What about all the farm machinery?

> Yes...anywhere...inside a heated building. Even if the LEDs used provide some degree of heating, some sort of HVAC to regulate temperatures must still be employed. I'd imagine you wouldn't use an unheated warehouse in Canada during winter.

This seems like a rather strange argument. You can grow crops indoors in antartica if it comes to that. Beind able to grow crops anywhere you like rather than having to hunt for ideal land is an incredible benfit. Considering that a lot of the fertile topsoil in the midwest is being lost, this seems like a great way to ensure that food supplies are not jeapordized.

> However, make no mistake - so far these are low calorie greens at a luxury price.

For now, because farms and farm produce is heavily subsidized. If we were to apply similar subisidies to indoor farms + continue to increase the efficiency, we could possily produce at similar costs as well.

[patall]

If you built a house just for growing plants then yes. If I grow a few veggies in a green curtain at home in the kitchen window where I am not even there 90% of the daylight time, then no. Also, I am growing radish and salad in the attic right now where there is no extra heating or light so point 2 is also not necessarily true. The only thing I would agree on is that you will not cover more than 5% of your diet that way but it enough for covering the winter with some fresh stuff.