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Is this the future of food? Japanese ‘plant factory’ churn out immaculate vegetables

Original Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
Author: David Derbyshire
Original Publication Date: 3 June 2009

They look more like the brightly lit shelves of a chemists shop than the rows of a vegetable garden.

But according to their creators, these perfect looking vegetables could be the future of food.

In a perfectly controlled and totally sterile environment – uncontaminated by dirt, insects or fresh air – Japanese scientists are developing a new way of growing vegetables.

Food of the future? Lettuces are grown in a sterile environment at Ozu Corporation’s plant factory in Japan – without being exposed to the air outside

Called plant factories, these anonymous looking warehouses have sprung up across the country and can churn out immaculate looking lettuces and green leaves 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Every part of the plant’s environment is controlled – from the lighting and temperature, to the humidity and water. Even the levels of carbon dioxide can be minutely altered.

Rather than the conventional scruffy clothes and dirty fingernails of vegetable growers, the producers wear gloves, surgical masks and sort of dust proof protective suits normally seen in chemical plants.

Those growing the vegetables wear gloves, surgical masks and the sort of dust proof protective suits normally seen in chemical plants

The vegetables from plant factories – which include green leaf, romaine lettuce and garland chrysanthemum – are sold at a premium to Japanese shoppers. No pesticides are used – and there is no risk of contamination with food poisoning bugs.

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