[MeganC]

LOL, they’re going to have an amazing marijuana industry!!!

[AngelesCrestHighway]

It’s going to be both the indoor and outdoor hub for fist fights when the convention comes to town...

[jsanders2001]

> When growing produce we usually think of acres of farmland. Some say the next generation of farming will be in urban centers like Philadelphia, and you won’t need soil or the sun, just an old warehouse.

Sounds like another attempt at redefining reality and trying to one up God's creation by the atheists leftists with a futuristic dystopian vision. We'll see how good those crops grow without natural sunlight and good old fashioned farmland. They try to remove God and his handiwork and replace it with man made counterfeits at every turn thinking they are above Him while denying His existence. Deep down they know and one day they will know without any doubt.

[arl295]

Is that what they call it now?

[RegulatorCountry]

But is this sustainable? Lighting and climate control for these operations will be solar powered, right?

[ConservativeWarrior]

Ensure all your fruits and vegetables are fresh from Philly!

Yeah. Not so much...

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Hipsters. Pfffft.

[FatherofFive]

I've seen many articles on this concept. LED lighting uses less energy and creates less heat. Plants can grow 22 hrs a day (plants seem to need sleep as well)which increases yields and reduces time to maturity. Plants are fed nutrients in recycled water, and monitoring keeps the nutrient at the proper levels. No need for pesticides. And, shipping costs are eliminated, other than local.

Cost is still the issue. Some crops - like corn and potatoes - are still best done outside. (But don't eat corn!)

Could be a great source of fresh, local food. And jobs. Just make sure no government subsidies are used.

[showme_the_Glory]

What about all the energy burned for the grow-lights? How dare they not use the sun.

[dfwgator]

[USMCPOP]

No pesticides? Ask any greenhouse grower about insects and fungi.

[Hostage]

This actually is a development that could be a game changer especially with the robotics coming out of Boston Dynamics and Rethink Robotics, also from Boston. LED technologies also play out in this to get the cost factor for indoor lighting down.

I hope to see this accelerated under a Trump Administration as it will counter any arguments for needing farmworkers from south of the border.