January 2021 - 16

THE DEMAND FOR
Local & Sustainable Food
How will artificial intelligence fuel a greenhouse boom?
By Carl Silverberg
iUNU
CUSTOM BUILT
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AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT SALES AND SERVICE
16 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
Contrary to the popular belief that
artificial intelligence (AI) will eliminate
swaths of jobs in the indoor farming
industry and leave hundreds of people
unemployed, the evidence just isn't there.
Unless, of course, you assume that the
population growth of the U.S. remains
stagnant and that American eating habits
won't continue trending toward fresher, not
processed food. The increasing demand for
food will be met with increasing supply.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics
(www.bls.gov) already estimates 6% growth
for agricultural and food science workers
between 2018 and 2028, and this is without
factoring in a boost from AI. Demand for
farmers and ranchers is projected to drop
1% over the same period. The math is not in
favor of outdoor farm expansion, it's in favor
of bringing more production under glass.
As desirable agricultural farmland continues
to dwindle, food security is going to have to
come from somewhere, and the greenhouse
industry is the logical choice, not overseas.
What is also changing is the way
Americans purchase food, what types of
food they are purchasing and how their
eating habits are changing. The upward
trends in the past decade have been in
organic food consumption, as well as the
demand for locally grown and sustainable
food. According to the Pew Research Center
(www.pewresearch.org), organic food
consumption has been growing at a 10%
rate for the past several years.
Consumers want to know
Bob Jones, Jr. is a sixth-generation farmer
and co-owner of The Chef's Garden in
Sandusky, Ohio, a combined farming and
greenhouse operation.
" We sell to upscale restaurants and
resorts, four and five-star locations, and we
sell our products in all 50 states, " he says.
" The product we are harvesting is delivered
to the kitchen door of a restaurant within
15 hours; basically from the earth to
your table. It's produced domestically, it's
regulated by FDA, EPA, ODA. We know
exactly how it's produced, how it's packaged
and shipped, and we know how the people
who produce it are treated. "

http://www.bls.gov http://www.pewresearch.org http://www.ikeswelding.com http://www.VegetableGrowersNews.com

January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2021