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Rather than buying tomatoes or apples that were picked days or even weeks ago, future grocery shoppers may be able to “harvest” live produce from living plants.
Futurelab, a company that helps businesses predict trends, made the forecast as part of a report commissioned by Sainsbury, a supermarket chain.
Under the plan as outlined, plants would be grown in small greenhouses, and a soil-free solution of nutrients and water would feed the roots.The greenhouses would be tended by a farmer until the produce was ripe, then he or she would transport the enclosure from the farm to the supermarket, allowing shoppers to pick their own food in climate-controlled comfort. The authors suggested, however, that this innovation is at least a decade away. It’s an interesting idea.
Certainly the food would be fresher, and perhaps tastier, than what is currently found on supermarket shelves. But soil-free, hydroponic gardening is often dependent upon synthetic chemicals, which is definitely a downside. So I continue to suggest that the best produce comes from your own backyard organic garden, closely followed by an organic grower’s stand at a local farmers’ market.