Walls of carefully spaced herb and lettuce plants rise to the ceiling of a massive greenhouse in Cleburne. Inside Eden Green Technology's 62,000-square-foot vertical greenhouse, over 340,000 plants are stacked 18 feet high.
"We have basically shrunk 40 to 50 acres of conventional farming down into an acre and a half," said Eddy Badrina, CEO of Eden Green. Badrina said Eden Green is part of a growing shift to produce food within the U.S.
"I think you are seeing a decentralization, a deglobalization of supply chains and specifically the food supply chain," he said. "So in response to that, you can pay more for food and just keep on getting it shipped at a higher price, or you can take ground in growing more things domestically in the U.S."
Critics of vertical greenhouse farming say it has steep startup costs. Eden Green has invested $47 million into their Cleburne facility. Meanwhile, some researchers say investments in indoor farming could be better spent improving outdoor farming conditions.
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