Glass, Tech, And Mass Export: A Dutch Take On The Future Of Farming

Last week, I was on a night flight that took me across my native country of The Netherlands. Flying from Istanbul to London, I stared out of the window as the plane started its descent. I’ve seen Holland by night from the sky many times, but it never fails to amaze me to see the entire sky lit up orange when you approach the Westland area, where I was born. Miles after miles of tiny orange squares: all greenhouses, as far as the eye can see.

When I travel with a non-Dutch person, I always struggle to explain the magnitude of what the area produces, and how it does it. That’s why I was glad to see this in-depth report in National Geographic, which does exactly that. I found it independently from my fellow piqer Michael Cruickshank, who first mentioned this story back in September. But I thought it would be worth referring to it again as I also came across some critics of the original article.

I’ve been seeking out opposing views in an attempt to try and ‘piq’ both sides of a story. In this case, I was interested in the question raised around how mass production can lead away from distinct flavours and quality. 

One other side note I would make is that many of the vast number of greenhouses pictured (some by drones) in the original article contain plants and flowers, not just food. But for those interested in the future of agriculture, or just curious after spotting the glass houses from a plane, it is still worth a read. Most encouraging to me are the measures towards sustainability, summed up in the commitment to produce “twice as much food using half as many resources”.