Japanese “Farmers” Trade Boots for Lab Coats

But even that state of affairs could be in for a change. In fact, for some Japanese, the days of eating vegetables grown in the ground, under an open sky, are already coming to an end.

Reacting to a scandal caused by the importation of pesticide-tainted dumplings from China, the Japanese food industry has set its sights on a new type of agriculture facility, the “vegetable factory.”

In vegetable factories, “farmers” in dustproof suits, gloves, and surgical masks raise produce under completely artificial conditions. Humidity, temperature, light, and other factors are carefully controlled, and the plants grow in a solution of nutrients rather than soil.

Japan’s agriculture ministry hopes to have as many as 150 vegetable factories running within the next three years.

The benefits of the system are obvious. Imagine being able to harvest “organic” lettuce 20 times a year rather than two or three. Imagine packaging and selling vegetables that need no washing, and that will last for three weeks in the fridge because there were so few germs in their growing environment.

Not only that, but these “plant plants” can provide a profitable opportunity for recycling: The idea is to convert manufacturing facilities shut down by the recession into sites for producing food.