With Bowery in absolute control over the entire growing
process to include color, texture, and nutrition, do you
believe this “creation to specification” to be the wave of
the future in indoor farming?
Yes, controlling the entire growing process from seed
to store comes with so many benefits. It means our
produce is the purest available and food you can truly
feel good about eating. It also allows for us to grow with
zero pesticides. Because we grow in a completely closed
environment, we also drastically minimize the risk of
contamination from food-borne illness. We’re uniquely
positioned to reduce food waste because BoweryOS
precisely allocates the exact amount of resources that
our plants need for optimal growth and tells us when to
harvest them at their peak to reduce spoilage. Because
we grow near the urban centers we serve, Bowery
produce is in stores less than a day after harvest,
reducing spoilage in transit and extending shelf-life.
Do you believe hydroponic/vertical gardening is the future
of sustainable farming?
Yes. The global population is projected to reach
9-10 billion people by 2050 (75-80 per cent of which will
live in and around cities). To feed a population of that
size, we’ll need 70 per cent more food, meaning that more
food will need to be produced in the next four decades
than has been produced in the last 10,000 years. Bowery
is 100-plus times more productive on the same footprint
of land. While vertical stacking is part of the increase in
productivity, we are also able to grow many crops twice
as fast as the field, with more crop cycles per year than
the field, and more yield per crop cycle as well.
Is this method of smart-farming something you could
see being scaled down to a family-sized undertaking as
in a backyard greenhouse or basement?
Our proprietary technology is meant for large-scale,
commercial farming operations, but we’re really happy
to see so much enthusiasm behind various farming
methods, at home and beyond. There’s a clear need to
improve upon the traditional agriculture industry and
we believe in producing food in a way that’s better for
us and our environment.
Finding ways to feed an exploding population is one of the
greatest challenges facing farmers today and the agricul-
ture world of tomorrow. Producing enough food without
exhausting the planet’s limited resources will remain a
demanding and daunting task. Enterprises like Bowery
Farming are taking up that challenge. While large-scale
indoor farming is still in its infancy, smart farms offer a
sneak peek into what the future of farming might look like.
Changing the way we farm in an effort to better feed the
world is a noble and demanding undertaking and Bowery
is helping lead the way by growing more food more effi-
ciently in an eco-friendly environment.
Maximum Yield
61