With the increasing population and food demand, the need to have an efficient and sustainable food production system has emerged. While vertical farming offers a potent solution to boost resource use efficiency, its substantial energy requirements hinder its widespread use.
A group of bioengineers has proposed Electro-agriculture, a revolutionary cultivation method that essentially requires no sunlight. As Electro-agriculture uses multi-story buildings, the amount of land needed for agriculture would be reduced by 94%.
Electro-agriculture aims to replace photosynthesis with a solar-panel-powered chemical reaction that efficiently converts CO2 into an organic molecule, acetate. Acetate would then be fed to Genetically Modified crops, which would be grown hydroponically.
To genetically modify acetate-eating plants, researchers are eyeing the native ability of plants to germinate seeds without light. However, this ability is paused once plants become capable of photosynthesis. Reawakening this proficiency would enable plants to use acetate as an energy source and carbon.
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