Jingpeng Plant Factory: Beijing's Hi-Tech Solution To Growing Demand For Pesticide-Free Vegetable

[kristopher]

While few would confess that the sight of a large warehouse looming on the horizon stirs thoughts of delicious produce, new technology being employed in China may very well change that perception.

In this video, Reuters reports from Jingpeng Plant Factory in Beijing, which uses no soil or sunlight to grow its veggies, and is the largest indoor farm in China, at around 14,000 square feet.

The farm uses a liquid solution to grow plants like lettuce and cabbage, and LED lighting, which despite being 10 times more expensive to grow, actually saves energy, Reuters reports.

The factory uses a hi-tech computer-controlled growth system, which makes it able to grow plants twice as fast and have an output 10 to 20 times greater than a traditional farm, helping to meet the growing market for high-end pesticide-free produce in China's big cities.

But all that technology comes at a price, as Jingpeng's produce tends to cost 3 to 5 times more than the traditionally grown options.

Video at link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/17/jingpeng-plant-factory-be_n_714760.html