As we write this post, it’s a sunny, 70 degree day — perfect lettuce-growing weather (though atypical for NYC this time of year, but we’ll save that for another post). Lettuce thrives in average daily temperatures between 60 and 70°F. So for most of the year, the majority of us who live in colder or variable climates import our fresh lettuce from warmer climates. The Salinas Valley in California, also known as the “Salad Bowl of the World,” supplies 70% of the lettuce sold in the US, and during the winter, Yuma County in Arizona, also known as the “Winter Lettuce Capital of the World,” supplies 90%. So how is this lettuce grown, and how does it make it all the way to the shelves of your grocery store?

Most of the lettuce grown in the Salinas Valley or in Yuma is grown on large, industrial farms whose environmentally-costly practices take a toll both on the quality of greens they produce and the long-term viability of the land. Lettuce grown in these large farms is aided by the liberal use of synthetic fertilizers, which can cause harmful algae blooms that reduce levels of oxygen and lead to dead zones. In order to support growth, these farms divert water from natural aquifers and rely heavily on the use of pesticides to protect against pests and other bacteria. However, extreme weather related to climate change is already making the lettuce harvest more unpredictable, and natural sources of irrigation like the Colorado River are rapidly drying up due to climate change, overuse, and poor management. (1)

Once ready for harvest, conventional lettuce is machine-picked and processed, which can cause quality issues and waste from mechanical damage.(2) Because it’s grown outdoors with pesticides, conventional lettuce is often triple-washed to reduce the risk of contamination like that which caused the recent E. Coli outbreak — an incredibly water costly process. It’s then vacuum cooled, packaged, and picked up by long-haul refrigerated diesel trucks that transport it thousands of miles across the country. Once it reaches its destination, it’s handed off to multiple short-haul distributors, who eventually deliver it to retailers.

By the time traditionally grown lettuce makes it into your shopping cart, it’s over a week old, has traveled an average of 2,000 miles, and is well past peak freshness. If you live in NYC, for example, your lettuce has traveled even longer and is likely even older.

At Bowery, we believe in a simpler, safer, and more sustainable approach. That’s why we’re building commercial scale indoor farms closer to the point of consumption and delivering safe, pesticide-free produce at the peak of freshness and flavor, all using less than 5% of the water and no middlemen.

We grow our lettuce in our indoor farm in Kearny, New Jersey and our hydroponic growing system recycles more than 95% of the water used. We meticulously monitor the growing process of our greens and capture tremendous amounts of data which allows us to give our crops the exact nutrients, water, and light that they need — and not waste any resources.

When our greens are at the height of flavor and freshness, they are harvested. Because we grow in an indoor controlled environment we don’t use pesticides, so there is no need to process or wash our lettuce after harvest. The lettuce is packed, room-cooled, and loaded into our delivery van within a day or so of harvest. Our delivery vans travel only to grocery stores and restaurants within a close radius of our farm. Whereas most produce is grown or sold by distributors making the actual origin of the produce almost impossible to trace, we handle every step of the production and delivery process, ensuring end-to-end control and a completely traceable supply chain from seed to store.

Today, with more people prioritizing local produce, transparent supply chains, and sustainable growing practices, agricultural standards are changing. At Bowery, we are proud to be part of this movement towards a more responsible food system.

SOURCES:

(1) Western Resource Advocates (2017): Three Reasons the Colorado River Could Dry Up. World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision.

(2) Fertilizer Research and Education Program (2013): Lettuce Production in California.

Why conventional lettuce can take up to two weeks longer than Bowery from seed to store was originally published in Bowery Farming on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

POMEGRANATE ARUGULA QUINOA SALAD

This combination of sweet pomegranate and salty feta cheese is the perfect guilt-free indulgence.

Prep time: 15 minutes // Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 oz arugula
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 small red onion, diced
• ½ cup pine nuts
• ¾ cup pomegranate seeds
• 4 oz feta cheese, cubed

For the dressing:

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ¾ cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard

Instructions:

• Combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl. Toss gently.
• In a separate bowl, combine dressing ingredients.
• Pour dressing over salad and enjoy!

LOADED BUTTER LETTUCE AND CHICKEN SALAD

With fruits, vegetables, chicken, and three types of greens, this salad is protein packed, nutrient dense, and abundantly flavorful.

Prep Time: 10 minutes // Cook Time: 25 minutes // Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 5 oz Bowery butterhead lettuce
• 1 oz Bowery arugula
• .75 oz Bowery basil
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 chicken breast
• 1 avocado
• ¼ of a golden delicious apple
• ¾ of a black plum
• 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
• ¼ cup gorgonzola
• Thyme
• Chives (sliced)
• Salt and pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions:

Prep your veggies:

• Preheat oven to 350° and bring water to a boil.
• Peel sweet potato and add to boiling water. Cover and boil for 10 minutes.
• Halve grape tomatoes and cut sweet potato into thin round slices. Toss with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Lay flat on baking sheet and bake until crisp — about 20 minutes.
• Mix roasted tomatoes with 1 tbsp of your gorgonzola. Set aside.

Prep your chicken:

• Brush with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper, and 2 tbsp of chopped Bowery basil.
• Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Slice width-wise on an angle.

Prep your fruit:

• Slice 1/4 of an apple into matchsticks.
• Cut 3/4 of a plum in 1/4 inch rounds.
• Halve an avocado and slice lengthwise.

Combine to finish:

• Chiffonade remaining Bowery basil. Mix Bowery butterhead lettuce, basil ribbons and arugula.
• Transfer chicken and avocado slices onto a bed of lettuce. Add apple, plum, sweet potato, and tomatoes.
• Season with salt, pepper, thyme, and sliced chives. Enjoy!

SAVORY BREAKFAST BOWL WITH CARROTS, AVOCADO, AND BOWERY GREENS

Breakfast will quickly become your favorite meal with this savory avocado carrot breakfast bowl. The best part: it takes under fifteen minutes to prepare, so you can easily make a healthy and nutritious breakfast part of your morning routine.

Prep Time: 5 minutes // Cook Time: 10 minutes // Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Bowery butterhead lettuce
• 1 cup Bowery arugula
• 1 Bowery basil leaf
• 5 small rainbow carrots, washed and cut in half
• 1 fried egg
• 1/4 avocado
• 1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate seeds
• Your favorite dressing
• Sprouts to garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Roast or sautée the carrots with ghee
• Fry the egg with ghee or coconut oil
• Load the greens into a bowl and add dressing.
• Top with carrots, egg, avocado, pomegranate, salt, pepper and sprouts

Recipe Roundup: A fresh start to the New Year was originally published in Bowery Farming on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Population increase, climate change, and unsustainable water usage practices are all putting unprecedented pressure on the global water supply. Over the past 40 years, global water use has tripled and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. By 2050, there will be 10 billion people in the world, which means an increased demand for food,(1) and demand for water from agriculture alone is expected to increase by almost 20%.(2) We have to be proactive about reducing our water consumption and get serious about solutions to mitigate potential future global water shortages.

Take, for example, the case of California, which produces about a third of the vegetables and two-thirds of the fruits and nuts consumed in the US.(3) Between 2011 and 2014, California experienced record low levels of rainfall, leading to widespread drought, and farmers supplemented their crops with water from underground reserves. However, their withdrawal was largely unregulated and unsustainable: California withdrew 9.5 cubic miles of groundwater, around 7.5 times the amount of water contained in the state’s largest reservoir.(4) (Check out this article for more on the California drought and this one for information on California water use in general). To make matters worse, groundwater depletion (often driven by unsustainable agricultural practices) is happening globally: according to NASA, almost a third of the world’s 37 largest aquifers are being diminished much faster than they can be refilled, with eight receiving almost no natural replenishment.(5)

While a large part of the solution must come from more sustainable agricultural practices (like hydroponic farming, which uses over 95% less water than traditional agriculture), there are steps we can all take to reduce water consumption.(6) California succeeded in slashing water use by 25% from 2013 to 2015 through a series of mandatory and voluntary measures, including reducing the allowable flow-rate of water from household fixtures and encouraging people to buy water-saving appliances and install water meters to track total consumption. California’s commitment to water conservation was born of necessity, but in an increasingly globalized world, we can all take a lesson from it. Here are a few easy ways to reduce water use in your home:

Buy local

Buying local reduces your carbon footprint and avoids water costs embedded in transporting food (one gallon of gasoline uses between 1 and 2.5 gallons of water in refinement).(7) Bowery’s local indoor farms grow with 95% less water than conventional or organic farms and don’t require to wash your greens (because they are grown without any pesticides). That’s two water saving strategies for the price of one.

Leave no leftovers behind

Minimizing food waste helps to conserve water, since when food goes to waste, so does the water that goes into growing and processing that food. If you need to dispose of table scraps or spoiled food, try composting as a more sustainable alternative to using your garbage disposal, which needs water to run. Here are some simple home composting guidelines.

Take a load off

It can be tempting to turn on your dishwasher at the end of the night — but make sure it’s full first. Automatic dishwashers and washing machines should be fully loaded for maximum water efficiency, and most dishwashers no longer require pre-rinsing (talk about a win-win).

Try meatless Monday

Meat production uses between 8 and 10 times more water that grain production, according to the World Water Assessment Program.(8) Swapping in other proteins for some meals such as tofu, tempeh, and seitan or even lentils, beans, or chickpeas can provide tasty energy-packed meat alternatives. If you’re still looking for your meat fix, try plant based products that taste like the real thing such as the Impossible Burger or Beyond Meat products.

Rinse and reuse

Wash your fruits and veggies in a bowl and then use that excess water to nourish your plants instead of dumping it down the drain. Not only do you reuse the water, but it’s a great reminder to tend to your plants.

SOURCES:

(1) UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2017): World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision.

(2) United Nations Water Development Report (2016): Water and Jobs Facts and Figures.

(3) California Department of Food and Agriculture (2016): California Agricultural Production Statistics.

(4) Xiao, Mu et al. (2017): How much groundwater did California’s Central Valley lose during the 2012–2016 drought?

(5) Richey, Alexandra S. (2015): Quantifying Renewable Groundwater Stress with GRACE.

(6) Austin, Chris (2017): Making Conservation a California Way of Life.

(7) Grace Communications Foundation (2017): The Hidden Water in Everyday Products .

(8) Barclay, Elizabeth (2013): When You Waste Food, You’re Wasting Tons of Water, Too.

5 easy ways to save water — and why it matters was originally published in Bowery Farming on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

PALEO PESTO BREAD (GLUTEN-FREE + GRAIN-FREE)

A savory basil bread made paleo and 100% grain-free! This deliciously herby Pesto Bread is full of rich flavor, nuttiness, and cheesy taste despite being dairy-free. Gluten-free and perfect for pairing with your favorite main dish. — Kaila Proulx

Prep Time: 10 minutes // Cook Time: 50 minutes // Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour
• ¼ cup psyllium husk powder
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 5 large eggs (beaten)
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ½ cup warm water
• 1 container of Bowery fresh basil leaves (.75 oz), finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
• Prepared dairy-free pesto, for topping

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the almond flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder, and sea salt.
3. Stir in the eggs and melted coconut oil, then the warm water.
4. Fold in cheese, basil leaves, and seasonings. Mix until just combined.
5. Transfer the batter to a well-greased loaf pan. Spread evenly throughout and then top with prepared pesto.
6. Bake for 50 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

AUTUMN SALAD WITH CARIBBEAN COLORS

This dish combines hearty fall flavors with bright colors that will transport you to the tropics. With its tangy sweetness and satisfying crunch, even the most reluctant salad eater will be reaching for seconds.

Prep Time: 30 minutes // Cook Time: 45 minutes // Total Time: 1.25 hours

Salad ingredients:

• 6 cups Bowery arugula
• 2 delicata squash
• 3 beets
• 3 watermelon radishes
• 3 tablespoon sliced shallots
• 1 cup candied walnuts

Dressing ingredients:

• ½ cup apple cider
• 1 cup olive oil
• ¼ cup honey
• Black pepper to taste
• 4 teaspoons yellow mustard seed
• ¼ cup sesame seeds

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 °F.
2. Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds, then cut the squash into ½ inch slices. Peel the beet and slice thinly.
3. Place the squash and beets on parchment lined tray, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 25–35 minutes or until tender.
4. Slice shallots thinly. Place them in a pan on high heat with canola oil. Shallots should start to bubble. Lower the heat and cook until shallots are golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel-lined surface to cool.
5. Cut the radishes into thin slices. Combine arugula, squash, beets, radish, shallots and walnuts.
6. To make the dressing: Reduce apple cider over heat until it is thick and jellied. Let it cool and add the oil, honey, pepper, mustard and sesame seeds. Stir until combined.

VEGAN CHICKPEA BASIL LETTUCE WRAPS

This chickpea lettuce wraps recipe was inspired by Bowery butterhead lettuce and Bowery basil, which tastes like summer at its peak! One should never underestimate the power of a can of chickpeas. With a couple fresh veggies and ten minutes to simmer in a slightly sweet sesame sauce, they become far from boring and are such a versatile staple to keep in your pantry. — Kate Van-Horn

Prep Time: 5 minutes // Cook Time: 15 minutes // Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon avocado or olive oil
• ½ cup Bowery basil, chopped
• 10–12 Bowery butterhead leaves
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon coconut nectar, or agave
• 1 teaspoon tamari, soy sauce, or liquid aminos
• 1 red or orange bell pepper, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 onion, diced
• ¼ cup almonds, crushed or sliced

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce (or liquid aminos/tamari), coconut nectar, hoisin sauce, and vinegar. Set aside.
2. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook 4–5 minutes, until soft.
3. Add the chickpeas and red bell pepper, allow to cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the sauce and allow everything to simmer for 2–5 minutes.
5. Serve filling inside lettuce leaves, and top with basil and almonds.

A Thanksgiving-week recipe roundup was originally published in Bowery Farming on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This past weekend in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, we joined thousands of food entrepreneurs, chefs, thought leaders, and industry enthusiasts at the annual Food Loves Tech expo, hosted by Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn, for a glimpse into the future of food. The event featured demonstrations from more than 70 companies at the forefront of where food meets technology. In between sampling a variety of our greens and answering questions about how Bowery differs from traditional farming methods and the meaning of “post-organic,” we made sure to check out some of the other companies shaping the future of food. Here are some of the trends we saw:

Lean proteins and plant based products: We’re seeing a number of companies providing healthier meat and dairy options. Whether it’s hormone-free, grass-fed bison from Honest Bison or nutrient packed oatmilk from Oatly, it’s getting easier to find healthy alternatives to your parents’ burger and milkshake.

Convenience: Food companies such as Nima and Daily Harvest are working to make healthy choices more convenient, albeit in very different ways. Nima makes a portable allergy sensor that allows consumers to test their food for gluten in two minutes or less. Daily Harvest is making fresh food more convenient by delivering pre-portioned cups of frozen organic ingredients that you can blend into a smoothie or soup on your own schedule.

Less waste: Reducing food waste is a top priority for us at Bowery, so it was great to see so many other companies at the expo working towards the same. Baldor Specialty Foods, the Northeast’s leading distributor of high-quality, fresh produce, reuses 100 percent of its organic food waste (some 120,000+ pounds per week), and it was inspiring to learn about the 17-year-old founder of GroGreen who is working to turn wasted food into wanted food.

Home gardens: Consumers want to know where their food comes from, and companies like SproutsIO and Seedsheet have developed smart systems that allow individuals to grow produce in their homes. While home gardens won’t entirely replace store bought veggies anytime soon, they are a great way for consumers to supplement their diet with fresh produce and get closer to the food they are eating.

Environmental impact: Companies are looking for innovative ways to reduce their footprint and increase their impact. Proud Pour wants to use wine to make the world a better place by restoring 100 wild oysters into their natural habitat with every bottle of white wine sold, and planting 90 square feet of bee habitat per bottle of red wine sold. At Bowery we use less 95% less water and cut down on food miles, so our greens are as good for the environment as they are for you.

It was encouraging to see a diverse set of companies come together toward the common goal of using technology to build a better food system for a healthier, more sustainable future. The future looks fresh.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest from Bowery by signing up for our email updates at boweryfarming.com and following us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We’re hiring!

Food Loves Tech recap: 5 trends shaping the future of food was originally published in Bowery Farming on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Last week, Tom Colicchio and a group of his chefs from Temple Court and Craft visited our farm. Although Bryan Hunt (Executive Chef at Temple Court), Tommy Chang (Sous Chef at Temple Court), and Jake Epstein (Sous Chef at Craft) have all been cooking with Bowery greens for months, they hadn’t yet seen where our produce comes from. They knew roughly how Bowery’s indoor farming technology works, but were surprised by the extent to which we have control over each environmental condition and can replicate them to ensure consistency and flavor.

We asked Bryan, Tommy, and Jake for a few tips to share with chefs at home:

Try it before you buy it

A dish is only as good as the ingredients in it. Make sure you’re working with the freshest, highest quality produce by tasting it first. Bryan claims he’s never met a farmer who gets upset when you try their produce before buying it. We agree, and find that sampling at retail locations is the best way to get customers to experience the freshness and flavor of our greens.

Protect your produce

Take care of your produce by protecting it from your refrigerator. Anything that needs to be prewashed should be wrapped in paper towels afterward to absorb excess moisture and kept in a sealed container to protect from condensation. Our greens are grown without any pesticides, so you don’t need to wash them, but this method will still keep our greens fresher for longer.

Waste not

Did you know that the stems and flowers of herbs are often the most flavorful parts? Chive flowers make a great garnish, and you can use the stems from herbs like basil and sorrel in sauces, and chopped cilantro stems in salsas. You can also puree most of your leftover veggies and use them in fall soups and stews.

Get creative

Mustard greens, kale, and cabbage are great traditional fall cooking greens. Try incorporating mustard greens for an added kick, kale in a hearty caesar salad or wilted in cavatelli, and cabbage with braised meats. You can make a cabbage and meat entree in layers: first, wrap the cabbage around your meat of choice (e.g. ground beef or lamb), then wrap all of that in puff or brick pastry before cooking. The moisture gets locked inside, and you’re left with layers of texture and flavor.

. . .

You can find Bowery produce on the menus at Craft and Temple Court, as well as at Foragers Chelsea and select Tristate area Whole Foods Markets.

Beyond the plate: Produce tips from professional chefs was originally published in Bowery Farming on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

While today it’s possible to grow crops indoors, without soil or sunlight — the way we do at Bowery — this wasn’t always the case. In this post we’re going to provide an overview of the evolution from traditional field farming to industrialized agriculture, explain the differences between greenhouse farming and vertical farming, and introduce you to some of the different techniques used in modern farms today.

From subsistence to “super farms”

Around the time of the American Revolution, 90% of the population were farmers. Today, only 3% of the U.S. population is employed on a farm, and 2% of U.S. farms produce 70% of all domestic vegetables.(1) So how did we get here?

The first significant inflection point for the agrarian economy came with the Industrial Revolution in the 1850’s, which brought with it the use of machinery to increase productivity and reduce labor. Farmers began to use fertilizers, often in the form of natural organic material like animal waste and manure, and learned to rotate crops to achieve better soil productivity. The first use of chemical pesticides also coincided with this period.(2)

Between the 1930’s and the late 1960’s, The Green Revolution accelerated new methods and technologies that increased agricultural production worldwide, including the transition from animal to mechanical power, the increased the use of chemical fertilizers, agro-chemicals and synthetic pesticides, and single cropping practices. The rapid industrialization of agriculture during this time period required farmers to become more efficient to remain competitive. It resulted in small farms, which had historically grown a wide variety of crops, being pushed out by large, corporate farms specializing in large-scale monocultures of single high-yielding crop varieties, like corn, soy, or wheat. These corporate farms were able to produce large quantities of food more efficiently to feed a growing population. Yet, this progress occurred at an environmental cost: the proliferation of synthetic pesticides, widespread soil depletion, and a heavy carbon footprint. As a result, many researchers and companies sought more efficient and environmentally friendly ways to feed a growing and increasingly urban population.

Modern farming

The idea of growing plants year-round by controlling environmental factors dates back as far as the Roman Empire. Emperor Tiberius Caesar had moveable plant beds built that could grow cucumbers year-round by being brought inside during cold or unfavorable weather. Over time, this evolved into the concept of greenhouses, which were used throughout Europe and Asia as early as the 13th century, and worked by trapping heat from the sun within an enclosed structure that insulated plants from cooler, ambient temperatures. These greenhouses, while innovative at the time, were all relatively low-tech compared to controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) today.

Today, CEA can be defined as “an advanced and intensive form of hydroponically-based agriculture,”(3) which uses technology to create and maintain optimal conditions for plant growth and minimize the use of resources including water, energy, and space. CEA works within an enclosed structure to provide a greater level of control over environmental factors which affect plant growth and quality like light, humidity, temperature, CO2, and nutrient levels.

In the 1970’s, greenhouses in the Netherlands were the first to use computer-assisted environmental control systems, but rising commodity prices quickly made the cost of heating and cooling prohibitive, and many of these were forced to shutter their operations.(4)

In the 1980’s and 1990’s, NASA used CEA to grow crops on a Martian Base prototype research facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, providing evidence that the nutritive value of indoor-grown food crops could be as good or better than field grown crops.(5) And in 1999, Cornell University built an advanced, commercial-scale CEA greenhouse facility in Ithaca, NY, which grew over 1,000 heads of lettuce per day. Since then, and increasingly over the last 5 years, CEA has been adopted as a commercially-viable solution to urban food production, and companies like Bowery have used CEA to build farms closer to the point of consumption that can produce food efficiently for urban populations.

Modern farming techniques

While CEA is a broad term, there are actually a number of different approaches that can be used to grow indoors. These techniques differ in how they deliver a plant’s three primary needs: water, nutrients, and light.

Water: Hydroponics vs. aeroponics

For water, CEA relies on either hydroponics or aeroponics. Hydroponics is defined as the science of growing plants without soil, and has been used throughout history by the Babylonians, the Aztecs, and even the ancient Egyptians, among others. The commercial use of hydroponics spread after WWII (when it was used by the U.S. Air Force to provide fresh food to troops stationed on small, rocky islands in the Pacific), and continues to accelerate with the development of better accompanying technology and automation. Traditional hydroponic methods, which we use at Bowery, grow plants directly in nutrient-rich water.

Aeroponics is technically a subset of hydroponics, and works by suspending plant roots in air and misting them with nutrient water. This method can provide a greater level of control over the amount of water that is used throughout the growing process, but may leave plant roots vulnerable to pathogens, if not carefully controlled.

Nutrients: Hydroponics vs. aquaponics

The second main difference in technique concerns the way nutrients are supplied to the plants. Hydroponics use mineral salts that mirror those naturally-occurring in soil, including minerals like calcium, magnesium, and iron. These mineral salts are combined in precise proportions and dissolved in water to provide nutrients directly to a plant’s roots, allowing for a balanced nutrient environment to achieve optimal plant growth.

Aquaponics, on the other hand, is a closed-loop system that relies on the symbiotic relationship between aquaculture (fish) and agriculture (plants) for fertilization. While fish waste accumulates in the water and provides the nutrients necessary for plant growth, the plants naturally clean the water. It provides a balanced, yet less regimented, environment.

Light: Greenhouses vs. Indoor vertical farms

Greenhouses vs. indoor vertical farms

Any growing environment requires energy to power photosynthesis. The biggest distinction in Controlled Environment Agriculture is in where this energy comes from, since it doesn’t come (entirely) from the sun, as it does in field farming.

Greenhouses often use a combination of natural and artificial lighting. Greenhouses grow crops indoors in a structure with walls and a roof made primarily of transparent material, like glass or polyethylene, in order to make use of naturally occurring sunlight. They use glass to filter out the UV rays, reducing the heat build-up inside the growing environment. Often, they supplement this sunlight with artificial light to counteract the times when the sun’s energy is either less intense or hidden by clouds.

Indoor vertical farms rely solely on artificial lighting. These farms grow crops entirely indoors inside of a warehouse or shipping container. In some of these farms, crops grow along vertical columns, and in others, they grow horizontally in stacked rows like the stories of a skyscraper (as they do at Bowery). One advantage to relying on LED lights, as we do at Bowery, is that they allow us to grow consistently and reliably 365 days of the year, regardless of weather or seasonality. Another advantage is that we can precisely control their spectrum, intensity, and duration, which allows us to adjust many variables including flavor profiles, and make our mustard greens spicier or our arugula more peppery, for example. We do this using BoweryOS, the software-based brains of our farm.

Until about 5–10 years ago, greenhouse production dominated, but in the last few years more indoor vertical farms have emerged, due in large part to falling LED prices. Both greenhouses and indoor vertical farms can be built in and around cities allowing modern farmers to cut thousands of miles out of the supply chain and deliver fresh produce within days rather than weeks of harvest.

The future looks ripe

While urban farming is on the rise, it still comprises less than 20 percent of agricultural production worldwide today according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.(6) Yet, this next frontier of farming boasts some important advantages: it allows farmers to produce more output, use fewer resources, and reduce transportation by locating operations closer to the point of consumption. As the global population continues to rise, people continue to move to and around cities, and resources continue to dwindle, indoor vertical farming is going to continue to grow rapidly in both scale and importance. At Bowery, we’re excited to be at the forefront of this growth and are passionate about realizing the potential of indoor agriculture to grow food for a better future by revolutionizing agriculture.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest from Bowery by signing up for our email updates at boweryfarming.com and following us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We’re hiring!

SOURCES:

(1 & 2) Trautmann, Porter and Wagenet (2012): Modern Agriculture: Its Effects on the Environment Source via Cornell University Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP).

(3 & 5) Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Controlled Environment Agriculture.

(4) Rorabaugh, Patricia A. (2015): Introduction to Hydroponics and Controlled Environment — Chapter 1 via University of Arizon aControlled Environment Agriculture Center.

(6) Royte, Elizabeth (2015): Urban farms now produce 1/5 of the world’s food via GreenBiz.

A brief history of modern farming was originally published in Bowery Farming on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A few weeks ago, we held the first “Bites with Bowery” dinner, co-hosted by our partner and advisor Tom Colicchio. We invited an intimate group of chefs and industry experts, food and culture writers, bloggers, and content creators to experience firsthand what Bowery is about — the purest produce imaginable.

The setting was Little River at Riverpark, a sleek metal and glass cube that juts out against the East River in NYC, and is one of Tom Colicchio’s farm-to-table restaurants famous for featuring produce from their own urban garden. That night, however, Bowery greens were the only produce on the inventive four-course menu by Chef Colicchio.

Upon entering the cube, guests were greeted by two large, 8 foot edible living walls made from Bowery produce! While some of our guests found this so tempting they considered snacking straight off the wall, we successfully ushered most over to the bar to try the featured cocktail, a spring & sorrel tonic garnished fresh-off-the-stem from a bartop arrangement of red and green Bowery sorrel.

As guests mingled, Chef Colicchio got to work on the first course: tuna crudo with Bowery wasabi arugula.

Before guests sat down to enjoy, Irving Fain, Bowery’s CEO and co-founder, welcomed guests and explained the purpose of the evening — to create a current of support for our vision to provide better access to fresh food in urban environments by transforming the face of agriculture.

Chef Colicchio also said a few words and invited guests to taste a leaf of Bowery wasabi arugula, one of his favorites, directly from their plates. When Colicchio first learned that we can manipulate the flavor of our greens by using our software system BoweryOS to tweak certain variables such as nutrients and light intensity, he asked if we could increase the spice level of this crop for his restaurants. Our guests seemed to think we had hit the mark, as a collective murmur broke out in the room when the spice kicked in.

Needless to say, everyone left the meal feeling full and inspired by the part we all play in transforming the future of food. Guests were invited to recreate a gourmet experience at home using a package of Bowery arugula and some small-batch green goddess dressing made with Bowery herbs. We invite those of you at home to do the same using the chef’s recipe below.

Green goddess dressing

1 cup sour cream
2 cups buttermilk
¼ cup parsley
¼ cup Bowery basil
¼ cup chives
1 each garlic clove
1 tbs red wine vinegar
Salt to taste

Place all ingredients into food processor and blend till herbs thoroughly incorporated.

We want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who attended and supported our first event, and to everyone who has supported us in some way or another so far. We look forward to continued opportunities to share our produce with the world.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest from Bowery by signing up for our email updates and following us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We’re hiring!

Behind the Scenes at the Bites with Bowery Dinner with Tom Colicchio was originally published in Bowery Farming on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

1. How can you grow produce without soil or sunlight?

As we all learned back in elementary school science class, plants need water, nutrients, and light to grow. Traditionally, plants grow outside, getting the water they need from groundwater, nutrients from soil, and light from the sun. But growing outdoors leaves plants subject to variability in weather patterns, harsh growing conditions, and seasonality.

Today, modern farming technology makes it possible to grow plants indoors in a completely controlled environment, 365 days a year, regardless of weather or seasonality. Instead of depending on water from the ground (most of which gets wasted through runoff), we supply our plants with the water they need through an automated irrigation system. This way, we can measure and maintain optimal levels to support plant growth, and even recycle the water that’s left over.

Rather than relying on naturally-occurring levels of nutrients in the soil (and exposing our plants to potentially harmful chemical byproducts from things like pesticide runoff or contaminated groundwater), our plants get the same nutrients as they would in soil, in precise proportions, directly through the nutrient-rich water in which they grow. And in place of light from the sun, we’re able to optimize for plant growth and health using LED lights that are tuned to the specific needs of each plant. We can even control the spectrum, intensity, and duration of the light in order to impact the flavor profile of our produce and grow a spicier arugula, for example.

All of this combined with growing in stacked vertical rows allows us to be more than 100 times more productive than traditional farming on the same footprint of land and grow produce year round using 95% less water.

2. Are Bowery products organic and non-GMO? What is “post-organic”?

Organic standards were written at a time when the technology that’s available today simply didn’t exist, so the USDA (the organization that does organic certification) does not recognize any indoor farms as organic.

We call Bowery produce “post-organic” because it represents the next evolution in farming. Because we grow in a completely controlled indoor environment, we’re able to use absolutely zero pesticides — unlike many organic foods which are grown using USDA-approved pesticides. In addition, our produce is completely non-GMO.

3. Doesn’t indoor farming require more energy than traditional field farming? How can that be better for the environment?

It’s true that indoor farming requires energy to power LED lights, where traditional farming relies on naturally occurring sunlight, but it’s important to look at this in the overall context of environmental impact:

a. LEDs are efficient and effective. LED technology has more than doubled in efficiency in the last five years, making LEDs a viable solution today and an increasingly effective one as this trend continues. Using LEDs, we’re able to grow indoors in vertical rows with faster crop cycles, making Bowery more than 100 times more productive than traditional field farming on the same square foot of land.

b. Precision farming techniques save water. At Bowery, we use 95% less water than traditional farming and zero pesticides, which is important because agriculture uses 70% of the world’s freshwater and 700 million pounds of pesticides each year in the US alone. Most of this water is wasted as agricultural runoff, harming the environment by depleting and often contaminating the water table.

c. Local production means we save on transportation. Because we locate our farms closer to the point of consumption, we don’t need energy to transport our produce across the country in refrigerated trucks, a process that can account for up to 50% of total greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.[1] Traveling only a short distance also means we can get our produce to shelves and tables with a day or so of harvest, as opposed to a few weeks.

4. If you’re all about saving resources, why is your packaging plastic?

Our packaging is made from Ecostar PET, which is produced from recycled post-consumer content and is 100% recyclable. We designed a hard-shell package that could best preserve the product, maximize airflow, and reduce spoilage. This choice of material helps reduce landfill waste while protecting the integrity of our produce once it leaves our farm. As we grow, we plan to continue to explore materials and ways to further optimize our packaging.

5. Where can I purchase Bowery products? Do you ship directly? Will you be expanding?

Bowery produce is currently available in the Tristate area at select Whole Foods and Foragers stores, and New York restaurants including Tom Colicchio’s Craft and Fowler & Wells. Since hyper-local distribution allows us to preserve the flavor and freshness of our produce, we do not ship directly to consumers.

We do plan to expand and have already started to work on our next farm which will serve more of the NY metro area. We are committed to building each farm close to the point of consumption and we hope to ultimately serve more cities throughout the country and even the globe.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest from Bowery by signing up for our email updates at boweryfarming.com and following us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We’re hiring!

The Top Five Things People Have Been Asking About Bowery was originally published in Bowery Farming on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.