Dan Frommer, writing for Quartz:

Why plant lettuce in a clean room? The obvious answer: Because it’s clean. Everything is tightly controlled, including air pressure, temperature, lighting, bacteria, and dust. The result is a crop that doesn’t need pesticides, doesn’t have bugs, and doesn’t need washing.

According to reports from The Hydroponics Planet, this form of hydroponics is drawing some major investment interest world-wide. The clean room aspect allows the grower to maintain a higher level of crop quality. The indoor nature allows food to be grown in any environment, and ship locally, which reduces transportation costs and ecological impact. Interesting to see tech firms like Toshiba, Fujitsu, and Sharp transitioning semiconductor manufacturing facilities to agriculture.

I have to say, I am a bit jealous that Dan got to go to Japan for this story. The only places Jim sends me seem to be local and must serve Heineken.