Like do our grocery essentials really differ enough to justify that everyone take their own car to a grocery store? Like I thought during the pandemic there should be centralized food deliveries, but in retrospect there should just be centralized food deliveries.

      • Ideology [she/her]
        ·
        3 years ago

        Depends. Weed farms that aren't aiming to be sustainable? Absolutely wasteful. Multi-level rack systems with skylights and recirculating hydroponics systems? You'd basically get the output of 5-10 farms in the space of one. Hydroponics, when done with good nutrition, aeration, and lighting will produce far more fruitful plants than traditional farms, and you don't even need genetic engineering. Add increased crop rotation frequency, no fallow fields, and no seasonality and the system will constantly churn out food. Use aquaponics and you reduce the need for fertilizer.

        Aside from lighting, the main issue with indoor farms is microbial disease which can infect an entire facility fairly easily, so workers must properly suit up when entering. But macroscopic pests tend to be easier to control.

        Putting them in skyscrapers is silly, though. Real ones go in warehouses.

        • summerbl1nd [none/use name]
          ·
          3 years ago

          i always thought the lighting issue would be fixable with like a shitload of collimating mirrors beaming into a warehouse but idk im stupid

          • Ideology [she/her]
            ·
            3 years ago

            Office buildings used to be lit with mirrors but :shrug-outta-hecks: