Watch the Green Solutions in Focus: Eatocracy Edition hour-long special hosted by Tom Foreman on Saturday, April 23rd at 3pm ET and see all Earth Day coverage at eatocracy.com/infocus
This is a hydroponic system growing plants in doors which chemicals and artificial lights. Nothing new just that it's in a metal box. There's another approach that involves fish like aquaponics but rather than buying fish food or even relying on fish poop for plant fertility it recycles organic matter to grow plants, even heavy feeding plants like peppers, melons and tomatoes. It's called bioponics. You can see one of these systems recently installed at an Atlanta West End City Park. or see it at http://www.bioponica.org.
June 22, 2011 at 4:49 pm |
Raven
Gee, I didn't see anything in there but salads. no corn, wheat, tomatoes, green beans etc.
May 6, 2011 at 11:01 pm |
liam1234
The largest green products website in the world is here, http://www.fourgreensteps.com/marketplace/
May 3, 2011 at 2:46 pm |
ma & pa
ROCKWOOL When we were little children people were told that was THE best insulation for their homes. That it was fireproof, inert and healthy to be around. Then a high percentage of those exposed to it began dieing of lung cancer specific to asbestos exposure. The ROCKWOOL was made of asbestos. We need the fact of what THIS "rockwool" is made of.
April 18, 2011 at 6:23 pm |
AGeek
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_wool
It's not asbestos-containing. The liability of even handling asbestos-containing material would make it cost-prohibitive for a producer. That said, it's not terribly unlike a dense fiberglass insulation, so I wouldn't be terribly keen on chewing on it, inhaling it, etc.
April 18, 2011 at 9:54 pm |
Western_PA
That's great. But how do we know for sure it's as safe to eat as food grown in dirt?
April 18, 2011 at 5:39 pm |
Puff, puff, pass
I smoke weed grown this way. Trust me, it's just as good as its sisters from the dirt.
April 18, 2011 at 6:28 pm |
Fig1024
well, you could spend 10 years in medical school and get supporting degrees in biology, biochemistry, and other. Then run a 5+ year study on the crops. Short of that, find someone who did all that and ask them
My cardiologist claims that great looking food can be grown by unnatural means like high use of nitrogen compounds, w/ bad results for nutrition.
That concerns me.
April 18, 2011 at 5:32 pm |
JOJO ATL
The containers are already here due to our trade imbalance so it's a good use for them. Farming takes a great deal of energy with modern methods not to mention that most of it travels hundreds if not thousands of miles. They don't mention Monsanto anywhere in the video.
April 18, 2011 at 3:02 pm |
AGeek
Monsanto was (I'm guessing) used as a generic stand in for any GMO crop. Please see my earlier post on the necessity of this type of seed.
April 18, 2011 at 3:10 pm |
Neil
I see that they are using grow light with the sun shining outside; it this really useful? As another person noted, would it not make sense to use PV cells to run the pumps, etc. to take the units off the grid?
April 18, 2011 at 2:54 pm |
AGeek
How much is Liotta paying CNN for these frequent runs?
Here, we have Jan., 24th, 2011: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/01/24/55-matt-liotta/
..and still no commentary from Liotta on his little operation's "incident": http://www.wsbtv.com/news/24691340/detail.html last August where one of his workers was trapped under his "great idea".
@Jerv: the material is rockwool. Look up how that was created. Takes a considerable amount of energy – like these pods do.
Rotation and vertical space was traded for horizontal space. Electricity was traded for sunlight. There isn't even the slightest bit about outfitting these pods with solar (PV) cells to make them self-sustaining. @CNN: can we *please* stop running thinly-disguised ads? They're tiring on those of us who use their head for something other than a hat rack.
April 18, 2011 at 2:18 pm |
MeatIsMurder-TastyTastyMurder
Monsanto is not mentioned in anything I read here. I suppose there is nothing so good for which some complaining radicals can't make up some ludicrous arguments against it. Ask yourself what positive are you doing to make the world a better place. And no, listening to "Rage Against the Machine" does not count.
April 18, 2011 at 2:09 pm |
The Witty One
Are you one of Monsanto's lawyers?
April 18, 2011 at 2:11 pm |
braskan
Monsanto is trying to copyright all seeds even if they didn't do anything to them to make them their own. They are trying to copyright what nature has made. Seems lazy to me. Subsistence farmers around the world could be sued in court for using seeds they have for generations because monsanto copyrighted their seeds. Does that make sense to you?
April 18, 2011 at 2:29 pm |
AGeek
Undoubtedly these are GMO seeds. In such close quarters with such a premium on the crop, having some percentage of them be stricken with a mosaic would mean the loss of an entire crop. This operation is simply too small to take that risk.
Patenting seeds does *not* make the world a better place. GMO to avoid certain blights is understandable. Removing that benefit to all mankind after costs have been recouped is also beneficial to mankind. Companies that patent seeds, then actively litigate after germinating adjacent crops does nobody but shareholders any good – and certainly isn't good for those who prefer to eat non-GMO.
April 18, 2011 at 2:31 pm |
Chris
Coriolana- Best post ever! It's nice to see a Hawthorne reference. And Monsanto's evil too.
April 18, 2011 at 1:50 pm |
Coriolana
And grown with Monsanto's copyright seeds, no doubt. Rapaccini and his daughter would be proud.
April 18, 2011 at 12:42 pm |
Jerv
The equivalent of an acre and a half. That is incredible. I wonder what the "inert growing material" is?
April 18, 2011 at 9:40 am |
cj
Lets hope it is only compresses peet.
April 18, 2011 at 4:11 pm |
Lee roberts
Hardly new idea. if they turned it into a aquaponics unit they could use fish to grow these crops and have the best off both worlds
This is a hydroponic system growing plants in doors which chemicals and artificial lights. Nothing new just that it's in a metal box. There's another approach that involves fish like aquaponics but rather than buying fish food or even relying on fish poop for plant fertility it recycles organic matter to grow plants, even heavy feeding plants like peppers, melons and tomatoes. It's called bioponics. You can see one of these systems recently installed at an Atlanta West End City Park. or see it at http://www.bioponica.org.
Gee, I didn't see anything in there but salads. no corn, wheat, tomatoes, green beans etc.
The largest green products website in the world is here, http://www.fourgreensteps.com/marketplace/
ROCKWOOL When we were little children people were told that was THE best insulation for their homes. That it was fireproof, inert and healthy to be around. Then a high percentage of those exposed to it began dieing of lung cancer specific to asbestos exposure. The ROCKWOOL was made of asbestos. We need the fact of what THIS "rockwool" is made of.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_wool
It's not asbestos-containing. The liability of even handling asbestos-containing material would make it cost-prohibitive for a producer. That said, it's not terribly unlike a dense fiberglass insulation, so I wouldn't be terribly keen on chewing on it, inhaling it, etc.
That's great. But how do we know for sure it's as safe to eat as food grown in dirt?
I smoke weed grown this way. Trust me, it's just as good as its sisters from the dirt.
well, you could spend 10 years in medical school and get supporting degrees in biology, biochemistry, and other. Then run a 5+ year study on the crops. Short of that, find someone who did all that and ask them
My cardiologist claims that great looking food can be grown by unnatural means like high use of nitrogen compounds, w/ bad results for nutrition.
That concerns me.
The containers are already here due to our trade imbalance so it's a good use for them. Farming takes a great deal of energy with modern methods not to mention that most of it travels hundreds if not thousands of miles. They don't mention Monsanto anywhere in the video.
Monsanto was (I'm guessing) used as a generic stand in for any GMO crop. Please see my earlier post on the necessity of this type of seed.
I see that they are using grow light with the sun shining outside; it this really useful? As another person noted, would it not make sense to use PV cells to run the pumps, etc. to take the units off the grid?
How much is Liotta paying CNN for these frequent runs?
Here, we have Jan., 24th, 2011: http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/01/24/55-matt-liotta/
..and still no commentary from Liotta on his little operation's "incident": http://www.wsbtv.com/news/24691340/detail.html last August where one of his workers was trapped under his "great idea".
@Jerv: the material is rockwool. Look up how that was created. Takes a considerable amount of energy – like these pods do.
Rotation and vertical space was traded for horizontal space. Electricity was traded for sunlight. There isn't even the slightest bit about outfitting these pods with solar (PV) cells to make them self-sustaining. @CNN: can we *please* stop running thinly-disguised ads? They're tiring on those of us who use their head for something other than a hat rack.
Monsanto is not mentioned in anything I read here. I suppose there is nothing so good for which some complaining radicals can't make up some ludicrous arguments against it. Ask yourself what positive are you doing to make the world a better place. And no, listening to "Rage Against the Machine" does not count.
Are you one of Monsanto's lawyers?
Monsanto is trying to copyright all seeds even if they didn't do anything to them to make them their own. They are trying to copyright what nature has made. Seems lazy to me. Subsistence farmers around the world could be sued in court for using seeds they have for generations because monsanto copyrighted their seeds. Does that make sense to you?
Undoubtedly these are GMO seeds. In such close quarters with such a premium on the crop, having some percentage of them be stricken with a mosaic would mean the loss of an entire crop. This operation is simply too small to take that risk.
Patenting seeds does *not* make the world a better place. GMO to avoid certain blights is understandable. Removing that benefit to all mankind after costs have been recouped is also beneficial to mankind. Companies that patent seeds, then actively litigate after germinating adjacent crops does nobody but shareholders any good – and certainly isn't good for those who prefer to eat non-GMO.
Coriolana- Best post ever! It's nice to see a Hawthorne reference. And Monsanto's evil too.
And grown with Monsanto's copyright seeds, no doubt. Rapaccini and his daughter would be proud.
The equivalent of an acre and a half. That is incredible. I wonder what the "inert growing material" is?
Lets hope it is only compresses peet.
Hardly new idea. if they turned it into a aquaponics unit they could use fish to grow these crops and have the best off both worlds
Rockwool.