It’s no secret that the world is on “the brink of a food crisis”. But it’s not about how much is being produced in terms of the rising population, but rather, it is how food is being consumed that should be raising the most concerns.

Tonnes of food is left to decay every year due to imperfections, not being sold, and rot.

But how do you get people to not only be concious about where it is their food comes from, but how much of it they really need to get by?

Well, Elon Musk’s lil bro Kimbal has taken on the task of urban farming.

Together with Tobias Peggs the two are launching “Square Roots”, a new “urban farming accelerator”, and are looking for 10 super cool peeps to work with them.

(They really are, apply HERE.)

Says Musk on inspiration for the project:

Young people contact me all the time to articulate issues with the industrial food system, but they are frustrated by their perceived inability to do anything about it. It’s relatively easy to set up a tech company, join an accelerator, and progress down a pathway towards success.

It’s more complex to do that with food. Seeing this frustration—and pent-up energy—was a big part of the original inspiration for co-founding Square Roots.

The first location for food production is obviously Brooklyn, New York, where #realfood is gobbled up by the hipster masses (thanks, Broad City).

Set in an old Pfizer factory, the setup will include “climate-controlled, indoor, hydroponic vertical farms” where non-GMO produce will be grown year-round.

Hmmmm.

Pegg has his say, too:

Our goal is to empower young people to become real food entrepreneurs—so selling the food they grow is a big part of that. We will encourage them to build direct relationships with customers and sell food locally—to families at farmers’ markets, to chefs at restaurants, and more. A big part of the mission is to help reconnect people to their food and the people who grow it. That means Square Roots entrepreneurs getting out there and becoming an integral part of the local food system.

Hmmm, I have some questions.

Just how real is food that doesn’t see the sun, or is that me being as pedantic as a vegan?

How much electricity does it use?

What about working on existing structures of consumption and food waste, or is this a problem that will disappear when supermarkets and massive supply chains are affected by #realfood influences?

Will this project encourage existing generations of consumers to realise that local is better, and to not care if a tomato has a massive dent in it?

Why start in Brooklyn when people are already conscious, and not in another part of the city that needs more of a change in mindset?

Also, just how much variety can be grown in such conditions? Surely you will need variations of controlled temperature to provide a decent selection of #realfood? Like, what about food that grows in winter, or summer?

I just don’t know. I need more convincing.

Or maybe I’m more of an Elon fan.

That’s probably the case.

[source:foodandwine]