Are indoor vertical farms the future of agriculture? | Stuart Oda

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

翻译人员: psjmz mz 校对人员: Jinming Zhang

So if you live on planet Earth

如果你生活在地球上，

and you're one of seven billion people that eats food every day,

并且是每天需要食物 的 70 亿人中的一员，

I need you to pay attention,

我需要你注意，

because over the next three decades,

因为在接下来 30 年，

we will need to address

我们将必须应对

one of the most critical global challenges of our generation.

我们这个时代最重要 的全球挑战。

And I'm not talking about climate change.

我不是在说气候变暖，

I'm talking about food and agriculture.

我在讨论食物和农业。

In 2050, our global population is projected to reach 9.8 billion,

2050 年，全球人口预计 将达到 98 亿人，

with 68 percent of us living in urban city centers.

68% 的人将生活在城市里面。

In order to feed this massive population,

为了养活这么大规模的人口，

we will need to increase our agricultural output

我们需要把现有的农业产出规模

by 70 percent over current levels.

增加 70%。

Just to put this number into perspective,

为了让你们对这个数字有个概念，

这相当于在未来 35-40 年， 需要增加的食物将会超过

we will need to grow more food in the next 35 to 40 years

than the previous 10,000 years combined.

过去 1 万年的总和。

Put simply, not only is our global population becoming bigger,

简单来讲，我们的 全球人口不仅变得更多，

but it's also getting denser,

也变得更密集，

and we will need to grow significantly more food

并且我们必须用 更有限的土地和资源

using significantly less land and resources.

去种植更多的粮食。

Complicating our current efforts to address these major demographic shifts

当前农业面临的挑战 使我们当前应对

are the challenges facing the agricultural industry today.

这些重大人口变化 的努力复杂化了。

Globally, one third of all the food that we produce is wasted,

从全球来看，我们生产的 食物有 1/3 被浪费了，

acquitting to 1.6 billion tons of food

相当于 16 亿吨的食物

that spoiled on the way to the market

在运往市场的途中烂掉，

or expired in our refrigerators

或者躺在我们的冰箱里过期，

or were simply thrown out by supermarkets and restaurants

又或者被超市和餐饮 在每天打烊时

at the end of the day.

丢弃掉。

Every single year, up to 600 million people

每年，多达 6 亿的人

will get sick eating contaminated food,

因为吃被污染的食物而患病，

highlighting the challenge that we have of maintaining global food safety.

凸显了我们维持全球 食品安全的挑战。

And, maybe unsurprisingly,

此外，大家不难想象，

the agricultural industry

农业产业

is the single largest consumer of fresh water,

是最大的单一淡水消费领域，

accounting for 70 percent of global usage.

占全球使用量的 70%。

Now, you'll be relieved to know

听到下面的消息 你可能会感到轻松一些：

that the agricultural industry

农业产业

and that the global movement by universities, companies and NGOs

以及由大学，公司和 非营利组织发起的全球运动

is putting together comprehensive research

正在推动全面的研究

and developing novel technology

和开发新的技术

to address all of these issues.

来解决这些问题。

And many have been doing it for decades.

很多机构已经 致力于这个领域长达几十年。

But one of the more recent innovations in food production

但最近有一个食物生产方面的创新

being deployed in industrial parks in North America,

被部署在了北美的工业园区，

in the urban city centers of Asia,

在亚洲的城市中心，

and even in the arid deserts of the Middle East

甚至是中东干旱的沙漠中，

is controlled environment agriculture.

那就是可控环境农业。

Controlled environment agriculture is actually just a fancy way of saying

可控环境农业是 对不受天气或者环境影响

weather- or climate-proof farming,

的农业的花俏叫法，

and many of these farms grow food three-dimensionally in vertical racks,

与传统的二维农场不同， 许多这样的农场

as opposed to the two dimensions of conventional farms.

在垂直的架子上 立体地种植粮食作物。

And so this type of food production is also referred to

所以这种类型 的食物生产模式也叫做

as indoor vertical farming.

室内垂直农场。

I've been involved in the indoor vertical farming space

在过去 5 年半的时间里， 我一直涉足

for the past five and a half years,

室内垂直农场领域，

开发能让这种类型的食物生产

developing technology to make this type of food production

更加高效和低成本的技术。

more efficient and affordable.

This picture was taken outside of a decommissioned shipping container

这张照片是在一个废弃 的集装箱外面拍的，

that we converted into an indoor farm

我们把它改造成了一个室内农场，

and then launched into the heart and the heat of Dubai.

然后把它运到迪拜的中心 和高温地区。

Indoor vertical farming is a relatively recent phenomena,

从商业角度讲，室内垂直农场是

commercially speaking,

最近才出现的现象，

and the reason for this is that consumers care more about food safety

原因在于消费者 越来越关注食物安全

and where their food comes from,

和他们食物的产地，

and also, the necessary technology to make this possible

并且让这一切成为可能的必要技术

is more readily available and lower cost,

也已经变得更容易获取，更廉价；

and the overall cost of food production globally is actually increasing,

另外，全球食物生产 的成本其实在增加，

making this type of food production more competitive.

使得这类食物生产更具竞争力。

So if you want to build an indoor vertical farm,

所以如果你想要建造 室内垂直农场，

you will need to replace some of the conventional elements of farming

你将需要用人工替代品

with artificial substitutes,

取代传统的农场元素，

starting with sunlight.

从阳光开始。

In indoor vertical farms,

在室内垂直农场，

natural sunlight is replaced with artificial lighting like LEDs.

自然光源由 LED 这样 的人工光源代替。

While there are many different types of LEDs being used,

虽然有许多不同类型 的 LED 被使用，

the one that we decided to install here

我们决定安装在这里的

is called "full spectrum LEDs,"

叫做“全光谱 LED”，

which was optimized for the type of vegetables that we were growing.

专门针对我们种植 的蔬菜进行了优化。

Also, in order to maximize production for a given space,

同时，为了在给定空间中 最大化产出，

indoor vertical farms also utilize and install racking systems

室内垂直农场也会 利用和安装货架系统

to grow vegetables vertically,

来立体种植蔬菜。

and some of the biggest facilities

有些最大的设施

stack their production 14 to 16 floors high.

把它们的产品排布到 14-16 层楼高。

Now most of these farms are hydroponic or aeroponic systems,

这些农场大多 是水培或气培系统，

which means that instead of using soil,

这意味着使用的不是土壤，

they use a substitute material like polyurethane sponges,

而是聚氨酯海绵， 可生物降解的

biodegradable peat moss

泥煤苔之类的替代材料，

and even use inorganic materials like perlite and clay pellets.

甚至是无机材料， 如珍珠岩和粘土球团。

Another unique aspects about these farms

这些农场的另一个独特之处是

is that they use a precise nutrient formula

它们使用的精准养分配方

that is circulated and recycled throughout the facility,

在整个设施内不断被循环和回收，

and this is pumped directly to the vegetables' root zone

并直接输送到蔬菜的根部

to promote plant growth.

来促进植物的生长。

And lastly, these farms use

最后，这些农场使用

a sophisticated monitoring and automation system

复杂的监控和自动化系统，

to significantly increase productivity,

显著提高了产量，

efficiency and consistency,

效率和一致性，

and these tools also provide the added benefit

这些工具也会给生产的食物带来

of producing food that is more traceable and safe.

更容易追踪和更安全的额外好处。

Some of the obvious benefits of growing food in this way

这种方式培育粮食作物 的一些明显的好处是，

is that you have year-round vegetable production,

你全年都可以生产蔬菜，

you have consistent quality and you have predictable output.

且品质一致， 你还可以预测产出。

Some of the other major benefits

其他一些主要好处

include significant resource use efficiencies,

包括显著的资源利用效率，

particularly water.

尤其是水。

For every kilogram of vegetables grown in this way,

以这种方式种植的每公斤蔬菜，

hundreds of liters of water is conserved compared to conventional farming methods.

与传统的耕作方法相比， 可以节省数百公升的水。

And with the water savings

在省水的同时，

come similar savings in the use of fertilizer.

化肥的使用也有所下降。

One of the highest-yielding farms

一个产量最高的农场

grows over 350 times more food per square meter than a conventional farm.

每平方米种植的粮食比 传统农场高 350 多倍。

And weatherproofing

耐候性

means complete control of incoming contaminants and pests,

意味着完全控制 外来的污染和害虫，

completely eliminating the need for the use of chemical pesticides.

完全不需要使用化学杀虫剂。

And not to be mistaken,

需要澄清的是，

these farms can produce enormous amounts of food,

这些农场可以生产大量的食物，

with one of the biggest facilities

最大的一个工厂

producing 30,000 heads of vegetables a day.

每天可生产 3 万颗蔬菜。

However, as with any new technology or innovation,

然而，跟任何新的 技术或创新一样，

there are some drawbacks.

这项技术也存在一些不足。

As you would imagine,

你应该可以想象，

growing food in this way can be incredibly energy-intensive.

以这种方式种植食物 会消耗大量的能量。

Also, these farms can only produce a small variety of vegetables commercially

此外，这些农场只能商业化 生产少量品种的蔬菜，

and the overall cost of the production still is quite high.

且整体的生产成本仍然相当高。

And in order to address these issues,

为了解决这些问题，

some of the biggest and most sophisticated farms

一些最大、最先进的农场

are making significant investments, starting with energy efficiency.

做了大规模的投资，从能源效率开始。

In order to reduce the high energy usage,

为了降低过高的能源消耗，

there are efforts to develop higher-efficiency LEDs,

人们尝试着开发更高效的 LED，

to develop lasers optimized for plant growth

开发适合植物生长的激光器，

and using even fiber-optic cables like these

并且使用像这样的光纤电缆

to channel sunlight directly into an indoor vertical farm

在白天将阳光直接 导入室内垂直农场

during the day to reduce the need for artificial lighting.

以减少对人工照明的需求。

Also, to reduce the labor costs associated with hiring a more sophisticated,

同样，为了降低因雇佣更加熟练，

more urban and also more high-skilled labor force,

更城市化和拥有更高技能的劳动力 所带来的高成本，

robotics in automation is used extensively in large-scale facilities.

机器自动化在大型设施中 得到了广泛应用。

And you can never really be too resource-efficient.

你永远不可能实现 资源的真正高效利用。

Building indoor vertical farms in and around urban city centers

将室内垂直农场建在 都市或都市周边

can help to shorten the agricultural supply chain

可以帮助缩短农业供应链，

and also help to maintain the nutritional content in vegetables.

并维持蔬菜的营养含量。

Also, there are food deserts in many countries

此外，在很多国家 都存在食物沙漠地区，

that have little to no access to nutritious vegetables,

那里的人没法得到有营养的蔬菜，

and as this industry matures,

随着这个行业的成熟，

it will become possible to provide more equitable access

即便是最贫穷的社区

to high-quality, highly nutritious vegetables

也能够得到高质量，

in even the most underprivileged of communities.

高营养的蔬菜供应。

And finally, and this is really exciting for me personally,

最后，也是我个人尤为兴奋的一点，

indoor vertical farming can actually be integrated seamlessly

室内垂直农场可以与城市景观

into the cityscape

进行无缝融合，

to help repurpose idle, underutilized and unused urban infrastructure.

来帮助重新利用闲置、未充分利用 和未使用的城市基础设施。

In fact, this is already happening today.

事实上，目前这样的事 已经在发生了。

Ride-sharing services have taken hundreds of thousands of cars off the road

共享汽车服务减少了 数百万辆汽车的出行，

and they have significantly reduced the need for parking.

并且显著减少了对停车空间的需求。

This is a farm that we installed in central Beijing

这个我们在北京市中心安装的农场

in an underutilized underground parking structure

位于一个未被充分利用 的地下停车场，

to grow vegetables for the nearby hotels.

用于为附近的酒店种植蔬菜。

Underutilized infrastructure

未充分利用的基础设施

is not simply limited to large-scale civil engineering projects,

不仅限于大型土木工程项目，

and they can also include smaller spaces like idle restaurant corners.

它们也可以包括较小的空间， 如空闲的餐厅角落。

This is an example of a farm that we installed

这是一个我们直接安装在

directly into the partition of a hotel entrance

酒店入口隔墙的农场，

in order to grow fresh herbs and microgreens on-site for the chefs.

用来给厨师们现场提供 新鲜的香料和蔬菜。

Honestly, if you look around,

老实说，如果你环顾四周，

you will find underutilized space everywhere,

你会发现到处都是未被 充分利用的空间——

under, around and inside of urban developments.

城区的地下，周围和内部。

This is a farm that we installed into an empty office corner

这是我们安装在 空置的办公室角落

to grow fresh vegetables for the employees in nearby cafes.

来为附近咖啡馆的员工 种植新鲜蔬菜的农场。

I get to be a part of all these cool projects

我有幸成为了农业产业中

and working in the agricultural industry

这些超酷项目的一员，

to improve access and affordability

协助提高新鲜营养农产品

to fresh and nutritious produce,

的普及度和可负担性，

hopefully soon by anyone anywhere,

希望很快能惠及任何地方的任何人。

has been the greatest joy and also the most humbling

这是我所做过的最快乐，

and intellectually challenging thing I've ever done.

也是最谦卑和最具挑战的事情。

And now that I've convinced you that agriculture can be quite sexy,

现在我已经证明了 农业也可以非常性感，

you'll be surprised and shocked to know

但你们也会很惊讶， 甚至很震惊的发现，

that I still have trouble

我仍然很难去

fully articulating how and why I decided to work, and continue to work,

充分阐明我是如何，以及 为什么决定在农业产业工作，

in the agricultural industry.

并将持续工作下去。

But a couple of years ago, I found a rather unique answer

但在几年前，我无意间找到了

hiding in plain sight.

一个相当独特的答案。

You see, I read an article

我阅读过一篇文章，

about how your name,

是关于你的名字，

particularly your last name,

尤其是你的姓氏，

can have a strong influence

如何对你的性格，

on everything from your personality to your professional career.

你的专业领域等一切事情 产生强大的影响。

This is my Japanese last name:

这是我的日语姓氏：

Oda.

Oda.

And the characters translate literally

这个词在字面上的翻译是

into "small farm."

“小农场”。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）