World’s Largest Indoor Farm In Japan Produces 100 Times More Food Than Other Farms [Video]
When it comes to farming, there is no better time than now to get into the field. Thanks to technological advances ushered in by the green movement, farming has evolved from a traditional means to sustain a personal living to a science with the potential to feed millions. The Inquisitr previously reported on how technology-assisted farming has become a blessing to others. Former NFL football player, Jason Brown, watched DIY videos on Youtube to learn how to grow 46,000 pounds of sweet potatoes and 10,000 pounds of cucumbers, which he donated to pantries and kitchens. In Irvine, California, an entire park was transformed into a garden that uses advanced growing methods to grow enough food to feed 200,000 people every single month!
Though the above are fine examples of how farming can be a blessing, Japan seems to be at the forefront in its evolution. They house the World’s Largest Indoor Farm. That’s not the amazing part! Apparently, this farm produces 100 times more food than any traditional farm can.
According to an article by Good News Network, Shigeharu Shimamura put his plan for the farm into fruition back in 2011. As mentioned before, the farm produces 100 times more food than traditional farming, but an example would probably do best for visual purposes. Right now, the farm has produced 10,000 heads of high-quality leafy lettuce. What is truly mind-blowing isn’t the quantity or the quality of the heads of lettuce. It is the fact 10,000 heads of lettuce is the farm’s output in a single day! If that rate were to be calculated annually, the farm produces about 3,650,000 heads of high-quality leafy lettuce per year!
The farm can also be recognized as a beacon of hope rising from disaster. The year 2011 wasn’t only known for the farm’s initiation, but also when Japan suffered through an earthquake and tsunami. It is out of the wake of these disasters that Shigeharu Shimamura made the farm a reality. Taking over a giant semiconductor factory vacated after the earthquake, Shimamura’s company, Mirai (which means “future” in Japanese), drew up designs for the indoor vertical farm. They contacted General Electric (GE) to co-develop the special LED lighting system while a third company reconstructed the facility using the structure’s special characteristics like clean-room facilities, thermal insulation, and high ceilings.
After the facility was repaired and optimized for farming, Mirai added towering rows of thin soil trays and exact measurements for temperatures, humidity, light, and darkness to create 100 times more vegetables per square foot than conventional farming methods. The facility is also bacteria-free, pesticide-free, and cuts food waste by 30 to 40 percent. The growing method uses 40 percent less power and 99 percent less water. Finally, the farm incorporates food safety and year-round availability.
TOMO News actually did a short special on the World’s Largest Indoor Farm. The video of the special is attached below for your viewing.
As the world learns to deal with the upcoming problems of both food and water shortages, plant factory farming operations – just like the World’s Largest Indoor Farm – will become a very viable solution. As a matter of fact, The Daily Meal reports that Mirai has installed twelve factory farming operations around Japan. They have also expanded outside of the country too, including Hong Kong, Russia, and even Mongolia. Very soon, such operations will expand to other places as well.
[Images via Mirai]
