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

477,701 views ・ 2020-02-07

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00:00
Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz
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翻译人员: psjmz mz 校对人员: Jinming Zhang
00:12
So if you live on planet Earth
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如果你生活在地球上,
00:15
and you're one of seven billion people that eats food every day,
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并且是每天需要食物 的 70 亿人中的一员,
00:18
I need you to pay attention,
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我需要你注意,
00:20
because over the next three decades,
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因为在接下来 30 年,
00:22
we will need to address
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我们将必须应对
00:23
one of the most critical global challenges of our generation.
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我们这个时代最重要 的全球挑战。
00:27
And I'm not talking about climate change.
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我不是在说气候变暖,
00:30
I'm talking about food and agriculture.
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我在讨论食物和农业。
00:33
In 2050, our global population is projected to reach 9.8 billion,
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2050 年,全球人口预计 将达到 98 亿人,
00:38
with 68 percent of us living in urban city centers.
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68% 的人将生活在城市里面。
00:42
In order to feed this massive population,
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为了养活这么大规模的人口,
00:45
we will need to increase our agricultural output
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我们需要把现有的农业产出规模
00:47
by 70 percent over current levels.
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增加 70%。
00:51
Just to put this number into perspective,
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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
00:53
we will need to grow more food in the next 35 to 40 years
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00:56
than the previous 10,000 years combined.
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过去 1 万年的总和。
01:00
Put simply, not only is our global population becoming bigger,
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简单来讲,我们的 全球人口不仅变得更多,
01:04
but it's also getting denser,
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也变得更密集,
01:06
and we will need to grow significantly more food
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并且我们必须用 更有限的土地和资源
01:08
using significantly less land and resources.
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去种植更多的粮食。
01:13
Complicating our current efforts to address these major demographic shifts
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当前农业面临的挑战 使我们当前应对
01:18
are the challenges facing the agricultural industry today.
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这些重大人口变化 的努力复杂化了。
01:22
Globally, one third of all the food that we produce is wasted,
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从全球来看,我们生产的 食物有 1/3 被浪费了,
01:27
acquitting to 1.6 billion tons of food
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相当于 16 亿吨的食物
01:30
that spoiled on the way to the market
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在运往市场的途中烂掉,
01:32
or expired in our refrigerators
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或者躺在我们的冰箱里过期,
01:35
or were simply thrown out by supermarkets and restaurants
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又或者被超市和餐饮 在每天打烊时
01:37
at the end of the day.
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丢弃掉。
01:39
Every single year, up to 600 million people
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每年,多达 6 亿的人
01:42
will get sick eating contaminated food,
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因为吃被污染的食物而患病,
01:45
highlighting the challenge that we have of maintaining global food safety.
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凸显了我们维持全球 食品安全的挑战。
01:49
And, maybe unsurprisingly,
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此外,大家不难想象,
01:51
the agricultural industry
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农业产业
01:53
is the single largest consumer of fresh water,
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是最大的单一淡水消费领域,
01:55
accounting for 70 percent of global usage.
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占全球使用量的 70%。
01:59
Now, you'll be relieved to know
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听到下面的消息 你可能会感到轻松一些:
02:02
that the agricultural industry
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农业产业
02:04
and that the global movement by universities, companies and NGOs
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以及由大学,公司和 非营利组织发起的全球运动
02:09
is putting together comprehensive research
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正在推动全面的研究
02:11
and developing novel technology
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和开发新的技术
02:13
to address all of these issues.
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来解决这些问题。
02:16
And many have been doing it for decades.
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很多机构已经 致力于这个领域长达几十年。
02:18
But one of the more recent innovations in food production
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但最近有一个食物生产方面的创新
02:22
being deployed in industrial parks in North America,
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被部署在了北美的工业园区,
02:25
in the urban city centers of Asia,
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在亚洲的城市中心,
02:28
and even in the arid deserts of the Middle East
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甚至是中东干旱的沙漠中,
02:30
is controlled environment agriculture.
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那就是可控环境农业。
02:33
Controlled environment agriculture is actually just a fancy way of saying
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可控环境农业是 对不受天气或者环境影响
02:36
weather- or climate-proof farming,
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的农业的花俏叫法,
02:38
and many of these farms grow food three-dimensionally in vertical racks,
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与传统的二维农场不同, 许多这样的农场
02:42
as opposed to the two dimensions of conventional farms.
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在垂直的架子上 立体地种植粮食作物。
02:46
And so this type of food production is also referred to
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所以这种类型 的食物生产模式也叫做
02:49
as indoor vertical farming.
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室内垂直农场。
02:52
I've been involved in the indoor vertical farming space
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在过去 5 年半的时间里, 我一直涉足
02:54
for the past five and a half years,
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室内垂直农场领域,
开发能让这种类型的食物生产
02:56
developing technology to make this type of food production
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更加高效和低成本的技术。
02:59
more efficient and affordable.
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03:01
This picture was taken outside of a decommissioned shipping container
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这张照片是在一个废弃 的集装箱外面拍的,
03:05
that we converted into an indoor farm
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我们把它改造成了一个室内农场,
03:07
and then launched into the heart and the heat of Dubai.
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然后把它运到迪拜的中心 和高温地区。
03:12
Indoor vertical farming is a relatively recent phenomena,
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从商业角度讲,室内垂直农场是
03:15
commercially speaking,
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最近才出现的现象,
03:16
and the reason for this is that consumers care more about food safety
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原因在于消费者 越来越关注食物安全
03:20
and where their food comes from,
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和他们食物的产地,
03:21
and also, the necessary technology to make this possible
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并且让这一切成为可能的必要技术
03:25
is more readily available and lower cost,
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也已经变得更容易获取,更廉价;
03:28
and the overall cost of food production globally is actually increasing,
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另外,全球食物生产 的成本其实在增加,
03:33
making this type of food production more competitive.
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使得这类食物生产更具竞争力。
03:35
So if you want to build an indoor vertical farm,
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所以如果你想要建造 室内垂直农场,
03:39
you will need to replace some of the conventional elements of farming
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你将需要用人工替代品
03:42
with artificial substitutes,
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取代传统的农场元素,
03:44
starting with sunlight.
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从阳光开始。
03:47
In indoor vertical farms,
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在室内垂直农场,
03:48
natural sunlight is replaced with artificial lighting like LEDs.
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自然光源由 LED 这样 的人工光源代替。
03:52
While there are many different types of LEDs being used,
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虽然有许多不同类型 的 LED 被使用,
03:55
the one that we decided to install here
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我们决定安装在这里的
03:57
is called "full spectrum LEDs,"
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叫做“全光谱 LED”,
03:59
which was optimized for the type of vegetables that we were growing.
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专门针对我们种植 的蔬菜进行了优化。
04:03
Also, in order to maximize production for a given space,
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同时,为了在给定空间中 最大化产出,
04:07
indoor vertical farms also utilize and install racking systems
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室内垂直农场也会 利用和安装货架系统
04:11
to grow vegetables vertically,
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来立体种植蔬菜。
04:13
and some of the biggest facilities
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有些最大的设施
04:15
stack their production 14 to 16 floors high.
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把它们的产品排布到 14-16 层楼高。
04:19
Now most of these farms are hydroponic or aeroponic systems,
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这些农场大多 是水培或气培系统,
04:22
which means that instead of using soil,
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这意味着使用的不是土壤,
04:24
they use a substitute material like polyurethane sponges,
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而是聚氨酯海绵, 可生物降解的
04:28
biodegradable peat moss
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泥煤苔之类的替代材料,
04:30
and even use inorganic materials like perlite and clay pellets.
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甚至是无机材料, 如珍珠岩和粘土球团。
04:35
Another unique aspects about these farms
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这些农场的另一个独特之处是
04:37
is that they use a precise nutrient formula
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它们使用的精准养分配方
04:39
that is circulated and recycled throughout the facility,
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在整个设施内不断被循环和回收,
04:42
and this is pumped directly to the vegetables' root zone
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并直接输送到蔬菜的根部
04:45
to promote plant growth.
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来促进植物的生长。
04:47
And lastly, these farms use
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最后,这些农场使用
04:49
a sophisticated monitoring and automation system
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复杂的监控和自动化系统,
04:52
to significantly increase productivity,
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显著提高了产量,
04:55
efficiency and consistency,
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效率和一致性,
04:57
and these tools also provide the added benefit
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这些工具也会给生产的食物带来
04:59
of producing food that is more traceable and safe.
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更容易追踪和更安全的额外好处。
05:04
Some of the obvious benefits of growing food in this way
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这种方式培育粮食作物 的一些明显的好处是,
05:08
is that you have year-round vegetable production,
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你全年都可以生产蔬菜,
05:11
you have consistent quality and you have predictable output.
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且品质一致, 你还可以预测产出。
05:14
Some of the other major benefits
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其他一些主要好处
05:16
include significant resource use efficiencies,
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包括显著的资源利用效率,
05:20
particularly water.
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尤其是水。
05:22
For every kilogram of vegetables grown in this way,
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以这种方式种植的每公斤蔬菜,
05:25
hundreds of liters of water is conserved compared to conventional farming methods.
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与传统的耕作方法相比, 可以节省数百公升的水。
05:30
And with the water savings
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在省水的同时,
05:31
come similar savings in the use of fertilizer.
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化肥的使用也有所下降。
05:34
One of the highest-yielding farms
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一个产量最高的农场
05:35
grows over 350 times more food per square meter than a conventional farm.
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每平方米种植的粮食比 传统农场高 350 多倍。
05:42
And weatherproofing
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耐候性
05:43
means complete control of incoming contaminants and pests,
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意味着完全控制 外来的污染和害虫,
05:47
completely eliminating the need for the use of chemical pesticides.
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完全不需要使用化学杀虫剂。
05:52
And not to be mistaken,
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需要澄清的是,
05:53
these farms can produce enormous amounts of food,
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这些农场可以生产大量的食物,
05:56
with one of the biggest facilities
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最大的一个工厂
05:58
producing 30,000 heads of vegetables a day.
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每天可生产 3 万颗蔬菜。
06:02
However, as with any new technology or innovation,
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然而,跟任何新的 技术或创新一样,
06:05
there are some drawbacks.
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这项技术也存在一些不足。
06:06
As you would imagine,
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你应该可以想象,
06:07
growing food in this way can be incredibly energy-intensive.
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以这种方式种植食物 会消耗大量的能量。
06:11
Also, these farms can only produce a small variety of vegetables commercially
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此外,这些农场只能商业化 生产少量品种的蔬菜,
06:15
and the overall cost of the production still is quite high.
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且整体的生产成本仍然相当高。
06:19
And in order to address these issues,
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为了解决这些问题,
06:21
some of the biggest and most sophisticated farms
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一些最大、最先进的农场
06:24
are making significant investments, starting with energy efficiency.
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做了大规模的投资,从能源效率开始。
06:29
In order to reduce the high energy usage,
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为了降低过高的能源消耗,
06:32
there are efforts to develop higher-efficiency LEDs,
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人们尝试着开发更高效的 LED,
06:35
to develop lasers optimized for plant growth
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开发适合植物生长的激光器,
06:38
and using even fiber-optic cables like these
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并且使用像这样的光纤电缆
06:41
to channel sunlight directly into an indoor vertical farm
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在白天将阳光直接 导入室内垂直农场
06:45
during the day to reduce the need for artificial lighting.
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以减少对人工照明的需求。
06:49
Also, to reduce the labor costs associated with hiring a more sophisticated,
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同样,为了降低因雇佣更加熟练,
06:54
more urban and also more high-skilled labor force,
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更城市化和拥有更高技能的劳动力 所带来的高成本,
06:57
robotics in automation is used extensively in large-scale facilities.
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机器自动化在大型设施中 得到了广泛应用。
07:02
And you can never really be too resource-efficient.
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你永远不可能实现 资源的真正高效利用。
07:06
Building indoor vertical farms in and around urban city centers
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将室内垂直农场建在 都市或都市周边
07:10
can help to shorten the agricultural supply chain
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可以帮助缩短农业供应链,
07:13
and also help to maintain the nutritional content in vegetables.
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并维持蔬菜的营养含量。
07:16
Also, there are food deserts in many countries
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此外,在很多国家 都存在食物沙漠地区,
07:20
that have little to no access to nutritious vegetables,
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那里的人没法得到有营养的蔬菜,
07:24
and as this industry matures,
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随着这个行业的成熟,
07:25
it will become possible to provide more equitable access
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即便是最贫穷的社区
07:29
to high-quality, highly nutritious vegetables
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也能够得到高质量,
07:32
in even the most underprivileged of communities.
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高营养的蔬菜供应。
07:35
And finally, and this is really exciting for me personally,
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最后,也是我个人尤为兴奋的一点,
07:39
indoor vertical farming can actually be integrated seamlessly
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室内垂直农场可以与城市景观
07:43
into the cityscape
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进行无缝融合,
07:44
to help repurpose idle, underutilized and unused urban infrastructure.
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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。
07:51
In fact, this is already happening today.
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事实上,目前这样的事 已经在发生了。
07:54
Ride-sharing services have taken hundreds of thousands of cars off the road
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共享汽车服务减少了 数百万辆汽车的出行,
07:58
and they have significantly reduced the need for parking.
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并且显著减少了对停车空间的需求。
08:02
This is a farm that we installed in central Beijing
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这个我们在北京市中心安装的农场
08:05
in an underutilized underground parking structure
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位于一个未被充分利用 的地下停车场,
08:08
to grow vegetables for the nearby hotels.
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用于为附近的酒店种植蔬菜。
08:11
Underutilized infrastructure
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未充分利用的基础设施
08:12
is not simply limited to large-scale civil engineering projects,
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不仅限于大型土木工程项目,
08:16
and they can also include smaller spaces like idle restaurant corners.
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它们也可以包括较小的空间, 如空闲的餐厅角落。
08:21
This is an example of a farm that we installed
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这是一个我们直接安装在
08:23
directly into the partition of a hotel entrance
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酒店入口隔墙的农场,
08:26
in order to grow fresh herbs and microgreens on-site for the chefs.
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用来给厨师们现场提供 新鲜的香料和蔬菜。
08:31
Honestly, if you look around,
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老实说,如果你环顾四周,
08:33
you will find underutilized space everywhere,
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你会发现到处都是未被 充分利用的空间——
08:36
under, around and inside of urban developments.
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城区的地下,周围和内部。
08:40
This is a farm that we installed into an empty office corner
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这是我们安装在 空置的办公室角落
08:43
to grow fresh vegetables for the employees in nearby cafes.
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来为附近咖啡馆的员工 种植新鲜蔬菜的农场。
08:48
I get to be a part of all these cool projects
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我有幸成为了农业产业中
08:51
and working in the agricultural industry
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这些超酷项目的一员,
08:53
to improve access and affordability
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协助提高新鲜营养农产品
08:56
to fresh and nutritious produce,
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的普及度和可负担性,
08:58
hopefully soon by anyone anywhere,
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希望很快能惠及任何地方的任何人。
09:00
has been the greatest joy and also the most humbling
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这是我所做过的最快乐,
09:04
and intellectually challenging thing I've ever done.
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也是最谦卑和最具挑战的事情。
09:07
And now that I've convinced you that agriculture can be quite sexy,
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现在我已经证明了 农业也可以非常性感,
09:11
you'll be surprised and shocked to know
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2559
但你们也会很惊讶, 甚至很震惊的发现,
09:14
that I still have trouble
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我仍然很难去
09:16
fully articulating how and why I decided to work, and continue to work,
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充分阐明我是如何,以及 为什么决定在农业产业工作,
09:21
in the agricultural industry.
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并将持续工作下去。
09:23
But a couple of years ago, I found a rather unique answer
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但在几年前,我无意间找到了
09:27
hiding in plain sight.
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一个相当独特的答案。
09:29
You see, I read an article
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2142
我阅读过一篇文章,
09:31
about how your name,
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2018
是关于你的名字,
09:33
particularly your last name,
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2059
尤其是你的姓氏,
09:35
can have a strong influence
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1310
如何对你的性格,
09:36
on everything from your personality to your professional career.
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3208
你的专业领域等一切事情 产生强大的影响。
09:40
This is my Japanese last name:
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这是我的日语姓氏:
09:43
Oda.
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Oda.
09:44
And the characters translate literally
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2875
这个词在字面上的翻译是
09:48
into "small farm."
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“小农场”。
09:49
(Laughter)
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1268
(笑声)
09:51
Thank you.
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谢谢。
09:52
(Applause)
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(鼓掌)
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