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As cool as the operations part of this is, I can't help wishing they were growing food that mattered on scale to make a difference. Lowering the carbon footprin

As cool as the operations part of this is, I can't help wishing they were growing food that mattered on scale to make a difference. Lowering the carbon footprint of putting expensive garnishes on the plates of the 1% is a start, I guess.

plusbryan 9y ago
Isn’t this the same ideology of Tesla? Innovate your product via the dollars of wealthy early adopters; as cost declines, widen your reach.
- bobthepanda 9y ago
  This is how most technology started out - electricity, cars, jets, trains, refrigerators, air conditioning etc. Very few technologies have been created by targeting poor or middle-class people first.
neaden 9y ago
Low calorie stuff like herbs or lettuce are essentially the only plants that are practical to grow indoors at scale like this. Which makes perfect sense when you think about it but unfortunately means it will be very difficult to try to scale up to providing 2000 calories to a person, let alone the amount of plant matter chickens and cattle take. Edit: To clarify what I'm getting at here is the fairly linear relationship between how much artificial light is input and calories output. If your indoor farm is getting natural light, such as a greenhouse, then things are different.
Kalium 9y ago
You're right! They could absolutely be growing food that matters on a scale to make a difference! There is the minor potential issue that doing so might be cost-prohibitive for all but the wealthiest. And also the minor consideration of what you might do to poor farmers in poorer countries by taking away their access to rich, first-world markets.
- xbmcuser 9y ago
  That is how all farming started take any fruit, spice or grain it was first grown for the nobles/kings/rich as they learned more about and grew larger quantities they became commodities that everyone uses.
  - Kalium 9y ago
    You're completely correct. This applies to basically every technology - very few things are cheap enough to make available to everyone when first introduced. With that said, it's often difficult to make this point successfully to people who resent that those with greater resources at their disposal have greater access to new, expensive technologies. Telling such people that today's technology that puts expensive herbs on the plates of the 1% today can grow food for the poor tomorrow is of little avail when they have visions dancing in their heads of food for the 99% being grown cheaply in basements today.

plusbryan 9y ago

Isn’t this the same ideology of Tesla? Innovate your product via the dollars of wealthy early adopters; as cost declines, widen your reach.

bobthepanda 9y ago
This is how most technology started out - electricity, cars, jets, trains, refrigerators, air conditioning etc. Very few technologies have been created by targeting poor or middle-class people first.

neaden 9y ago

Low calorie stuff like herbs or lettuce are essentially the only plants that are practical to grow indoors at scale like this. Which makes perfect sense when you think about it but unfortunately means it will be very difficult to try to scale up to providing 2000 calories to a person, let alone the amount of plant matter chickens and cattle take. Edit: To clarify what I'm getting at here is the fairly linear relationship between how much artificial light is input and calories output. If your indoor farm is getting natural light, such as a greenhouse, then things are different.

Kalium 9y ago

You're right! They could absolutely be growing food that matters on a scale to make a difference! There is the minor potential issue that doing so might be cost-prohibitive for all but the wealthiest. And also the minor consideration of what you might do to poor farmers in poorer countries by taking away their access to rich, first-world markets.

xbmcuser 9y ago
That is how all farming started take any fruit, spice or grain it was first grown for the nobles/kings/rich as they learned more about and grew larger quantities they became commodities that everyone uses.
- Kalium 9y ago
  You're completely correct. This applies to basically every technology - very few things are cheap enough to make available to everyone when first introduced. With that said, it's often difficult to make this point successfully to people who resent that those with greater resources at their disposal have greater access to new, expensive technologies. Telling such people that today's technology that puts expensive herbs on the plates of the 1% today can grow food for the poor tomorrow is of little avail when they have visions dancing in their heads of food for the 99% being grown cheaply in basements today.