The Sweet Future of Vertical Farming | Hiroki Koga | TED

翻译人员: Lening Xu 校对人员: suya f.

So here's a strawberry.

这是一颗草莓。

But not just any strawberry.

但不只是草莓。

This one can be up to three times sweeter than a regular one.

这比普通草莓的甜度高出三倍。

Just like the ones I grew up eating in Japan.

就像我小时侯在日本吃的那样。

As a child, when I came home and I saw strawberries on the table,

小时候，当我回到家， 看到桌子上有草莓时，

it meant we were celebrating something special.

这意味着我们在庆祝 一些特别的事情。

Holidays, birthdays, anniversaries.

假期、生日、周年纪念。

Strawberries are considered the king of fruits in my culture,

在我的文化中， 草莓被认为是水果之王，

and they're never sold just as strawberries,

它们从未被当成草莓出售，

they always have their varietal names.

它们总是有自己的品种名称。

Amaou, Benni Hoppe, Tochiotome.

甘王、红颜、栃乙女。

Any Japanese person can name a few.

任何日本人都可以列举几个。

Up until now,

到目前为止，

these strawberries could only be grown

这些草莓只能在 非常特殊的日本气候条件下种植。

under very specific Japanese climate conditions.

But today you can grow them anywhere around the world

但是今天，你可以使用 我们的垂直农业技术

using our vertical farming technology.

在世界任何地方种植它们。

By the way, does anyone want to try these strawberries?

顺便问一下， 有人想尝尝这些草莓吗？

Yeah?

是吗？

There you go.

给你。

No fighting over them, we have more.

不需要抢，我们还有更多。

So today I'm going to try to give it a shot

所以今天我要试一试 ，

and try to convince everyone here

试着说服在座的所有人相信这项技术 不再是一种未来主义的想法，

that this technology is no longer some futuristic idea,

but something that is going to mainstream very quickly,

而是很快将成为主流的东西， 比你想象的要早得多，

much, much sooner than you'd imagine,

by sharing some of our secrets.

分享我们的一些秘密。

So how did I get here?

我怎么会来到这里的？

I grew up in Japan,

我在日本长大，

I came to the US in 2015 to pursue my MBA.

2015 年来到美国攻读MBA。

On the second day of my arrival,

在我抵达的第二天，

I went to the local grocery store in California.

我去了加州当地的杂货店。

I was amazed by the beautiful produce aisle.

漂亮的农产品过道让我感到惊讶。

Green, red, yellow paprika side by side,

绿色、红色、黄色的辣椒并排放置，

everything was huge and shiny.

所有东西都巨大而闪亮。

The color was incredible.

颜色太不可思议了。

But the taste ...

但是味道……

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I was especially disappointed with strawberries.

我对草莓尤其失望。

I thought I was eating a cucumber.

我以为我在吃黄瓜。

I'm sorry.

对不起。

I later learned that this is because the US agriculture system

后来我了解到， 这是因为美国农业系统

had optimized everything towards mass production,

对所有方面进行了优化， 使其更倾向于批量生产，

as opposed to quality and flavor.

而不是质量和风味。

But this was the moment that I immediately realized

但那一刻，我立刻意识到，

that there's a huge opportunity here

如果我能使用垂直农业技术在美国土地上 种植日本品质的水果和蔬菜，

if I could grow Japanese-quality fruits and vegetables

on US soil using vertical farming technology.

那将是巨大的机会。

But back then, experts told me that vertical farms were expensive

但是当时，专家告诉我， 垂直农场价格昂贵，

and they could only grow leafy greens.

只能种植绿叶蔬菜。

So your lettuces, your kales, your spinaches,

如你吃的生菜、羽衣甘蓝、菠菜，

because anything beyond that requires bee pollination.

因为除此之外的任何 东西都需要蜜蜂授粉。

But bees were known not to operate well in a sunless vertical farm environment.

但众所周知，蜜蜂在没有阳光的 垂直农场环境中表现不佳。

But regardless, my partner Brendan and I,

但无论如何，我和我的搭档 布兰登（Brendan）

we decided to tackle this problem

决定解决这个问题，

and started building our first farm in 2017, with our own hands.

并于 2017 年开始亲手建造 我们的第一个农场。

As two non-engineer MBAs,

作为两名 MBA 而非工程师，

we nearly lost a few fingers just trying to cut PVC pipes.

我们在尝试切割聚氯乙烯管道时 差点失去了几根手指。

Almost electrocuted ourselves a few times.

差点触电自杀了好几次。

But we were really determined to solve one of the world's largest problems

但是我们确实下定决心要解决

that mankind is facing this century:

本世纪人类面临的世界上 最大的问题之一：

the failing agriculture system.

失败的农业系统。

Extreme weather, lack of water,

极端天气、缺水、 缺少耕地、大量使用杀虫剂，

lack of arable land, heavy use of pesticides,

and just not enough workers to keep up with the growing population.

且没有足够的工人来适应 不断增长的人口。

All of these things have contributed in the global agriculture production cost.

所有这些因素导致了 全球农业生产成本上升。

Vertical farms can actually solve all of these problems.

垂直农场实际上可以解决 所有这些问题。

We don't use any pesticides,

我们不使用任何杀虫剂，

we can recycle most of the water that we use,

我们可以回收我们使用的大部分水，

we don't even need arable land.

我们甚至不需要耕地。

In fact, one of our farms used to be a Budweiser factory.

实际上，我们的一个农场 曾经是百威啤酒工厂。

Imagine if you could turn all beer factories around the world

想象一下，如果你能把 世界各地的所有啤酒工厂

into strawberry farms,

变成草莓农场，

we'd be much healthier, right?

我们会更健康，对吧？

Yes? No?

是？不是？

Some people think beer’s healthy.

有些人认为啤酒很健康。

That's OK.

没关系。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But despite all of these benefits, skeptics still say,

但是，尽管有所有这些好处， 但怀疑论者仍然说，

well, vertical farms are too costly of a solution.

垂直农场的解决方案成本太高了。

It's not a viable business model.

这不是一种可行的商业模式。

I get it.

我明白了。

They're not entirely wrong, right?

他们并不完全错误，对吧？

We are still sort of expensive today,

我们今天仍然有点昂贵，

but think about where computers or mobile phones started, right?

但想想电脑或手机是 从哪里开始的，对吧？

The real question is, can vertical farms get there

真正的问题是， 垂直农场能做到吗？

and can we get there quickly enough?

我们能否尽快实现？

What I can tell you

我能告诉你的是，

is that a pack of our strawberries that you just ate,

你刚才吃的一包草莓 ，

they used to go for 50 dollars per pack five years ago.

五年前每包售价 50 美元。

Now they're 10 dollars,

现在它们是 10 美元，

available in more than 100 grocery stores on the East Coast.

在东海岸的 100 多家杂货店有售。

So we came here in five years.

所以我们五年后来到这里。

So you can probably imagine at this pace where we could get to

你可以想象以这样的速度

再过五年我们能达到什么水平。

in another five years.

We might even be cheaper than conventional products.

我们甚至可能比传统产品便宜。

But how?

但是怎么做呢？

How is that even possible?

这怎么可能？

Vertical farms look expensive, I hear you.

垂直农场看起来很昂贵，我听到了。

The short answer to that question

这个问题的简短答案是，

is that we can innovate so much faster in a vertical farm,

我们可以在垂直农场中更快地创新，

and we can also do things traditional farms simply can't do structurally.

我们还可以做传统农场 在结构上根本无法做的事情。

For example, in a traditional farm,

例如，在传统农场中，

you can only experiment once a year:

你每年只能进行一次实验：

during the season,

在这个季节中，

under climate you have no control over.

你无法控制气候条件下。

At Oishii, we have dozens of grow rooms

在 Oishii，我们有数十个种植室

where we can control every aspect of the environment

在这里，我们可以控制 环境的方方面面，

from things like temperature, humidity, CO2 levels,

从温度、湿度、二氧化碳水平到

all the way down to even light spectrums and wind speed.

均匀的光谱和风速。

So we can conduct experiments

因此，我们可以以可控的方式 更有效地进行实验。

so much more efficiently in a controlled manner.

And on top of that, we can start these experiments anytime during the year

最重要的是，我们可以在一年中 任何时候开始这些实验，

because we're not impacted by the outdoor seasonality at all.

因为我们根本不受户外季节的影响。

And using this approach,

使用这种方法，

we were able to go from just a few berries on a plant

我们能够在短短五年内

to five times of that in just a matter of five years.

将一株植物上的几颗浆果变成五倍。

If you try to accomplish something like this

如果你想在一个每年只能进行一次 实验的传统农场里完成这样的事情，

in a traditional farm where you can only experiment once a year,

it could have taken us nearly 500 years to get to the same outcome.

我们可能需要将近 500 年的时间 才能得到同样的结果。

And using this hyper-speed experiments,

通过这种超高速实验，

we were also able to accomplish three major breakthroughs:

我们还实现了 三项重大突破：

bee pollination,

蜜蜂授粉、

AI

人工智能

and robots.

和机器人。

Let's start with bees.

让我们从蜜蜂开始。

I know this is everyone's favorite topic.

我知道这是每个人最喜欢的话题。

You need bees to grow most produce,

你需要蜜蜂来种植大部分农产品，

strawberries, tomatoes, melons, peppers, you name it,

草莓、西红柿、甜瓜、辣椒等等，

because the bees will pollinate the flowers

因为蜜蜂会为花朵授粉，

that then become the product.

然后变成果实。

But bees, they need the sun and the natural environment to navigate.

但是蜜蜂，它们需要阳光 和自然环境来导航。

So in a vertical farm,

因此，在垂直农场中，

they wouldn't even come out of the hive.

它们甚至不会从蜂巢中出来。

Even if they did, they will "drunk fly" and can't find the flowers.

即使他们这样做了， 他们也会 “醉飞”，找不到花。

Just like how drunk humans are completely useless,

就像喝醉的人完全没用一样，

so are drunk bees.

醉酒的蜜蜂也是如此。

They just can't get the job done.

他们就是无法完成工作。

On top of that,

最重要的是，

you need somewhere between six to 15 visits by a bee

你需要蜜蜂来访大约六到十五次

to fully pollinate a strawberry flower.

才能为一朵草莓花完全授粉。

Anything less or more will result in missed pollination,

任何减少或增加都会导致授粉失败，

meaning you won't have product.

这意味着你将没有产出。

So for these reasons, an average Japanese farm

因此，出于这些原因，

据说日本农场的普通 传统农场的授粉成功率

a traditional farm is said to have a pollination success rate

of somewhere between 60 to 70 percent,

在 60％ 至 70 ％之间，

meaning three to four flowers don't even become products.

这意味着三到四成的花 无法形成产品。

In order to solve all of these bee problems,

为了解决所有这些蜜蜂问题，

Brendan and I, we interviewed many, many apiologists, experts.

我和布兰登拜访了 很多很多养蜂学家和专家。

We spent so much time in the farm observing the bees ourselves,

我们在农场里花了 很多时间亲自观察蜜蜂，

getting stung at times.

有时会被蜇伤。

Or ultimately we mapped out every environmental parameter

最终，我们绘制了室外农场 与室内农场的所有环境参数，

of outdoor farms versus our indoor farms

and went one by one.

并逐一绘制了地图。

And after two years,

两年后，

finally figured out the bee recipe.

终于找到了蜜蜂的环境配方。

So today we have bees,

因此，今天我们的农场里有蜜蜂，

sober bees, in our farms,

清醒的蜜蜂，

doing all the pollination for us.

为我们所有花授粉。

And what's more,

更重要的是，

with the help of data science and AI,

在数据科学和人工智能的帮助下，

our pollination success rate is above 95 percent,

我们的授粉成功率超过 95％ ，

meaning more than nine flowers out of ten become berries.

这意味着十分之九的花会变成浆果。

(Applause)

（掌声）

So we're much more efficient than conventional methods.

因此，我们的效率比传统方法高得多。

We have these self-driving camera carts

我们有这些自动驾驶摄像车，

that’s taking real=time visual data

可以采集农场中 每株植物的实时视觉数据，

of every single plant in the farm,

which helps us not only to determine yield and plant health information,

这不仅可以帮助我们确定 产量和植物健康信息，

but also how much bee activity is needed that day

还可以帮助我们确定当天 需要多少蜜蜂活动

to help with the bee pollination.

来帮助蜜蜂授粉。

These AI-powered robots can automatically detect only the ripest berries,

这些由人工智能驱动的机器人 只能自动检测最成熟的浆果，

pick them automatically, and they can work 24/7.

自动采摘它们， 并且可以全天候工作。

So when data is coupled with AI and robots,

因此，当数据与 人工智能和机器人相结合时，

you can do so many things

你可以做很多在传统农场环境 中根本无法做的事情。

you simply can't in a traditional farm setup.

We even figured out how to extend our plants' lifespan.

我们甚至找到了如何延长 植物的寿命的方法。

So our strawberry plants can keep them producing berries 365 days a year,

我们的草莓工厂可以让它们 一年 365 天持续生产浆果，

as opposed to just a couple of months in a traditional farm.

而传统农场只能生产几个月。

This means we're generating four to five times more revenue

这意味着我们每家工厂

per plant per year.

每年的收入将增加四到五倍。

So here again,

因此，再说一遍，

we're significantly more efficient.

我们的效率要高得多。

So these are all of the reasons why,

因此，这些都是原因，

even though outdoor farming may seem cheaper,

尽管户外农业 可能看起来更便宜，

because we can innovate so much faster

因为我们可以更快地进行创新，

and because we can do things and achieve efficiencies,

因为我们可以更高效地做事

you possibly can't in a traditional farm,

在传统农场中你可能做不到，

vertical farms can actually become cheaper than conventional farming,

垂直农场实际上可以变得 比传统农业更便宜，

especially considering how conventional agriculture cost

特别是考虑到 传统农业的成本

is only to go up from here.

从此以后只会上涨。

And guess what?

你猜怎么着？

We are already doing this at a massive, massive scale.

我们已经在大规模地这样做了。

This building, which used to be a plastic factory,

这座建筑曾经是塑料厂，

is now refurbished,

现在正在翻新，

it's solar powered,

由太阳能供电，

we're recycling majority of the water that we use.

我们正在回收使用大部分水。

This farm is already producing strawberries every single day as we speak.

就在我们发言的时候， 这个农场已经每天都在生产草莓。

And this technology can be used to grow

除了草莓以外，这项技术还可以 用来种植更多的东西。

so many more things beyond strawberries.

Vertical farming is no longer some fluffy futuristic concept,

垂直农业不再 是一个毛茸茸的未来主义概念，

but it's already here as we speak today,

但正如我今天所说的那样， 它已经存在了，

to change our lives and our planet for the better.

它旨在改善我们的生活和地球。

Imagine if these delicious, pesticide-free,

想象一下，如果这些美味、无农药、

sustainable strawberries were available at your local supermarket

可持续的草莓每天 都在当地的超市出售，

every single day, just for a few bucks.

只需几美元。

Isn't that a sweeter future?

那不是更美好的未来吗？

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）