第1814期:Is this the end of vertical farming?

Why do farmers grow crops outside in fields when we can stack them vertically? The idea of vertical farming was first proposed in 1999. It was seen as a way to save space, reduce air miles and transform old and abandoned buildings, like warehouses. In 2021, Fortune Business Insights valued the global vertical farming market at 3.47 billion dollars. Now, however, this industry is under threat, partly due to rising energy costs.当我们可以垂直堆放农作物时，为什么农民要在外面的田地里种庄稼？垂直农业的想法于 1999 年首次提出。它被视为一种节省空间、减少飞行里程和改造旧的和废弃的建筑物（如仓库）的方法。 2021年，Fortune Business Insights对全球垂直农业市场的估值为34.7亿美元。然而，现在这个行业正面临威胁，部分原因是能源成本上升。According to the magazine Science Focus, vertical farming gives ten times the yield of conventional outdoor farming. However, in order for crops to grow using this method, plants are placed in a controlled environment, grown not under the Sun, but under LED lights and watered with recycled water pumped on a closed-loop system.据《科学焦点》杂志报道，垂直农业的产量是传统户外农业的十倍。然而，为了使用这种方法种植作物，植物被放置在受控环境中，不是在阳光下生长，而是在 LED 灯下生长，并用在闭环系统中泵送的循环水浇灌。Unfortunately, energy prices have risen across the globe. Therefore, this reliance on electricity has meant the last few years have not been easy for the industry. Cindy van Rijswick, from the Dutch research firm RaboResearch, has estimated that operational costs for a vertical farm are around 15% higher now compared to 18 months ago. Infarm, Europe's largest vertical farming company, made around 500 employees redundant back in November 2022 because they needed to downsize. They blamed higher operating costs due to energy increases as one reason for the layoffs.不幸的是，全球能源价格都在上涨。因此，这种对电力的依赖意味着过去几年对该行业来说并不容易。荷兰研究公司 RaboResearch 的 Cindy van Rijswick 估计，与 18 个月前相比，垂直农场的运营成本现在高出约 15%。早在 2022 年 11 月，欧洲最大的垂直农业公司 Infarm 就裁员了约 500 名员工，因为他们需要缩减规模。他们将裁员的原因之一归咎于能源增加导致的运营成本增加。Another issue related to the cost-of-living crisis and affecting vertical farming is the type of produce grown. This includes herbs such as basil, as well as salad leaves and leafy greens. Compared to traditionally farmed ingredients, like onions and carrots, these products are more expensive so could be less in demand as consumers watch their spending more.So, it seems a future with food grown under LED lights is looking less and less bright.与生活成本危机相关并影响垂直农业的另一个问题是种植的农产品类型。这包括罗勒等香草，以及沙拉叶和绿叶蔬菜。与传统种植的食材（如洋葱和胡萝卜）相比，这些产品价格更高，因此随着消费者更加注意自己的支出，需求可能会减少。因此，在 LED 灯下种植食物的未来似乎越来越不光明。词汇表crop 作物，庄稼field 田地stack 叠放，摞起来vertical farming 垂直农业air mile （食物）里程warehouse 仓库yield 产量controlled environment 受控的环境LED light 发光二极管（LED）灯pump 用泵输送closed-loop 闭环的reliance 依赖operational cost 运营成本make redundant 裁员downsize （公司或组织）减员layoff （因工作岗位不足的）解雇cost-of-living crisis 生活成本危机produce 农产品basil 罗勒salad leaves 拌沙拉常用的菜叶leafy greens 绿叶蔬菜farmed 耕种的，种植的