AeroFarms, an indoor agricultural company based in a defunct steel mill in Newark, New Jersey. The company grows a variety of microgreens using LED lights and aeroponics, in which seeds are started in a soil-less growth medium and their roots sprayed with nutrients. For nearly two decades, such vertical agriculture has been touted as an industry disrupter and a sustainable solution to feeding the planet. Food factories would produce year-round harvests of high-yielding, nutritious vegetables close to urban centers, while requiring no pesticides and a fraction of the water used by traditional irrigation. Such companies sprang up around the world, from Tokyo to Dubai—and are now shuttering just as quickly due to copious energy consumption to pump water and shine all those LEDs, which also gave them a hefty carbon footprint. Moreover, nearly all vertical agriculture companies produce expensive greens, a fairly low-nutrient, low-carb vegetable that provides a tiny fraction of the world’s calories, which are largely provided by the four major outdoor crops: wheat, rice, corn, and soybeans, the bulk of which utilize free sunshine and rain. After nineteen years in business, AeroFarms filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023.
