The cutting edge technology of Europe's biggest greenhouse | DW News

[@AlbertaleoAlbertalei]

Good show. Love to see that humans still have the innovative spirit. Recycled materials and rain water. Fantastic.

[@jerbear7952]

Did you think humans had stopped innovating?

[@AlbertaleoAlbertalei]

@@jerbear7952 Yes. They're too busy TikToking.

[@matthijs1420]

A little bit of recycling and collecting of rain water doesn't come close to the damages greenhouses are doing to nature. I only see horror when I see how insane humans are trying to play mother nature.

[@BondJFK]

@@AlbertaleoAlbertalei we are talking about not western gen Z

[@Apocalypse9696]

fantastic, they should offer consultancy services so that other countries can also use these techs and farm in a more efficient way

[@crypticTV]

@@nntflow7058 "This would prevented majorities of countries from replicate this system." lol u think majority of countries are corrupt but Germany has no corruption?? Please 🙄🙄😒😒😒😒 Germany has much more grand corruption and countries like Australia and NZ can easily do this

[@huluqi3972]

The only way to do this in most other countries is through corruption As ppl in most other countries suffer food shortage, lands are either used in more efficient practical ways as part of food production chains,labor exchange for food in countries with vast lands like germany/US/Brazil/Russia or built for human occupation purposes No one would buy these followers with high prices without the money from corruption, thus the invest-return chain would claps soon without the affection of hobbyists, deemed as un-viable

[@bob.fagg-bois657]

and raise the unemployement levels even higher.

[@markknoop6283]

So they build a greenhouse a little bigger than the exciting ones and all of a sudden they possess the knowledge. 50 years of experience is gone?

[@pasekapskov]

Ага, конечно, так они тебе и рассказали... и научили.

[@christopheklinger3217]

Great news, i like the part about a family business compared to a stock market oriented one

[@Alex-bl6oi]

wow, it's great to see this in action, and to hear that it's successful even when faced with non-sustainable competition.

[@derrick9635]

As a 35 year blueberry picking veteran,i give this place an A+.

[@OfficialGapTV]

This is what mankind was made for!!

[@matthijs1420]

And why we are the species which is killing the planet

[@artmaknev3738]

Really well figured out greenhouse, this model should be used worldwide!

[@mp6710]

Sorry, I must add a point: Greenhouses are still a major thread to ecosystems and biodiversity: native animals and plants cannot live there, unlike openfield farming. The abundance of insects and birds (acting as pollinators and pest control) are replaced with a single specie of bumblebee, ladybird or hoverfly. This means loss of all other species and fragile ecosystem (if those bumblebee gets a disease, no other species can replace this function, unlike natural ecosystems). YES it is economically profitable, NO it's not ecologically susteinable.

[@Gandalfthefabulous]

Add to that these greenhouses are probably gas-heated, this actually makes greenhouses a very emission heavy industry.

[@watchonjar]

true but these can be set up in urban or close to urban spaces thus freeing up more space for ecological development

[@rowshambow]

It's also not sustainable to feed 8 billion people with open field farming. The surface area alone is destroying natural biodiversity and ecosystems

[@rowshambow]

The video literally says they are heated with waste wood and not gas.​@Gandalfthefabulous

[@aditisk99]

Well, the birds and the insects are already being kept away from normal farms.

[@catclark9488]

I'd love to watch videos about all the different processes that this company employs, it would be fascinating

[@rabbytca]

I was expecting content with a little more depth to it from DW.

[@Tinky1rs]

Good information, but the sound effects and some edit choices are not for me: they feel quite jarring (0:27 and 0:35).

[@caravanlifenz]

The one at 0:27 was so out of place!

[@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx77777]

Nah the beat fire

[@duderRechthat]

Crazy that they source the seedlings from Ethiopia, not exactly the country with the strongest food security

[@superresistant0]

Stable country, educated and reliable employees.

[@a0flj0]

It's their own facility in Ethiopia that produces the seedlings. They don't buy them from another company. It's probably cheaper to produce them there, since weather is warmer and days are naturally longer and brighter there, making seedling production more energy efficient. The cost of transportation, when you do it with huge container ships, is probably a tiny fraction of what the energy usage for producing the seedlings on site would cost.

[@rickzane6433]

Interesting. One of the important elements would be the wages paid to overseas workers (benefits, retirement plans, vacation...) and also the types of plants (genetically modified, pesticide free or not, fungicide, organic or not). It would also be interesting to test the limits of such a model in colder or warmer climates, including for sustainance microcrops. Indigenous populations might benefit from such greenhouses, including sunken ones in colder climates taking advantage of geothermal set ups.

[@opliko]

You may not realize this, but every single modern plant based food you eat has been genetically modified, and it is absolutely in no way bad for you. I don't understand why people think gmo is something bad, because it isn't.

[@rickzane6433]

@opliko where did I say it was bad? This would mainly be to inform customers and a broader audience.

[@sumosprojects]

This is the future to a degree 🧐

[@Siranoxz]

In the Netherlands this is very normal.

[@m.goodengumman3941]

Fantastic report, great company, ethical and morally responsible, leading future concept. It must have cost millions though, and worth every penny 😅

[@walli6388]

How much turf (torf) do they use?

[@mzleveli]

Why would they want grow seedlings in a far-away country, what's the benefit of that, could someone explain this? Thank you!

[@hayrettinankarali6946]

modern slavernij, de ene zit in kenya andere zit ecuador ,en anderen etiopie ,zuid sudan ,zuid afrika etc heel goedkoop arbeiders die 14-16 uur per dag werken voor 1 dollar of onder en water van nijl, warmte gratis, geen controle, geen regels in de landen voor chemicaliën, aleen cargo vluchten ,daar is ook oplossing voor oude spullen kleiding en computers en zo sturen en planten bloemen terug win win 10 dubbel win

[@TheEstonio]

We need an in-depth documentary for this.

[@Paul_C]

What you don't understand is this is not the source of that greenhouse. This is the result of the research from Food Valley. In other words Wageningen University in the Netherlands. They just bought the tech, anyone can do it and it is the only reason why NL is second exporter world wide after the USA.

[@davidcarruth1317]

Nice PR job, would be interesting to get the real inside scoop

[@felineboy1586]

Theres no inside scoop the product is just way too expensive

[@DeathToMockingBirds]

A model to follow once cities decide to become self sufficient

[@Meiseside]

The water system is more or less standart in germany and Austria for modern greenhouses.

[@bartschlief2574]

I thought, how weird the Netherlands🇳🇱 is normally the World Leader of greenhouses and their innovations. But now I it's a Dutch🧡 family who has their company just over the border within Germany😂 hahaha smart, because the land, gas and minimum wage prices are way lower there🙌🙌 Go Holland!🇳🇱🧡

[@kquat7899]

Impressive

[@k1ng617]

The music is too loud and distracting.

[@youtube7076]

tell me where they get all the water from for the farm and especially the power plant? im gonna miss our aquifers

[@a0flj0]

You probably didn't watch the entire clip, or didn't listen carefully. They collect rainwater, and are self-sufficient, with regard to water. By growing plants in an enclosed space, their need of water is much reduced compared to outdoors cultivation.

[@youtube7076]

@@a0flj0you are right i didnt, as soon as the green-washing started, i quit caring

[@pinkelephants1421]

Impressive, but this operation is in no way an eco friendly climate change prevention sustainable business. Firstly, they import plants grown in Ethiopia that have to be delivered as air cargo. Secondly, the sheer amount of plastic, most of which is likely to be made from virgin feedstocks, has a VERY heavy greenhouse gas footprint along it's (entire) supply chain and will largely end up being 'single use plastic' in nature that will be either landfilled or incinerated. It's very difficult as a gardener to find a way to recycle the types of plastic you acquire from the horticultural industry; trust me, I know from years-long experience. Thirdly, the burning of waste wood simply returns the carbon contained therein to the atmosphere along with the nitrous oxides and sulphur dioxide produced as byproducts of biomass combustion, all of which are heavy greenhouse gas pollutants. The use of solar panels on the greenhouses rooftops is an excellent choice and I understand the economic benefit to the business of selling the excess electricity to the grid. But a much better choice would be to use most, if not all of this excess electricity to power industrial sized heat pumps to heat the greenhouses instead of using polluting biomass.

[@Coladudetje]

Alot companies buying so much wood right now for beeing ridicilously beeing "climate neutral" that they impact wood, pellets prices for regular people that they also starting importing wood from northern places again. Very "climate neutral" indeed... I hope they also buy those million $ filters every year to clear out wood smog. If they have excess energy then yess heat pumps are a better choice.

[@edwinbruckner4752]

As someone who lives in the most important greenhouse area of world, I can say that your comment is really typical for someone who doesn't understand what efficiency ( and yes, that also means the least energy spend per product/plant/flower ) really means. Try looking up carbon footprints or emmisions per product per country. You will be suprised.

[@OsirusHandle]

at the least it uses way less water than normal farming

[@pinkelephants1421]

@@OsirusHandle True.

[@Indian_Rajput]

I think it will be a great buisness idea for agriculture and hoticulture students But capital investment & consulting base should be enough strong

[@parnold90]

Since when the German - Dutch border is considerer the middle of Europe? :)) DW News is in need of some serious Geography lessons!

[@ArthursHD]

Cool, now I have like 40 years to get to that level :)

[@SubvertTheState]

Yo this is awesome

[@tinalevesque5772]

If only there was a way to build green house towers inexpensively instead of wasting land.

[@playwith-int-6290]

Maybe the directors should mention that greenhouses in Ethiopia use so much water from lakes that the people around are starving. Dont buy for example roses from Ethiopia!

[@zinyang8213]

ah yeah the good old "family business model", as if Germany did not have enough oligarchs already..

[@andr90340]

You have no idea how dangerous is the creation of such giants for both fair competition and consumers. And this is possible only based on EU subsidised capital form EU taxpayers. This is exactly what brought the EU farmers and consumers to today's uprising and desolation.

[@user-gt1cs5jq6s]

North must be a master in this

[@massimopecile9666]

How much cost dig the peat and make plastics in terms of enviroment? Ship plants from africa to netherlands? If you take the same criteria used in normal farming this would be extreme

[@a0flj0]

The shipping using huge container ships uses a lot less energy than what would be needed for additional heat and light that to produce seedlings on site. Days are longer and the weather is warmer in Ethiopia. The containers are most likely reused until they get holes, and then recycled.

[@jplater9191]

Want to feed the world? Ask the Dutch🇳🇱🎉❤

[@cjplay2]

During narration, the music was too loud. During dialogue, the music was lowered properly. I was riding my volume using some quality headphones on a Mac using Firefox browser.

[@mhjunky4278]

Is it cheap though that's the most important question?

[@a0flj0]

It definitely isn't cheap. The company head said it: they're producing luxury goods, and luxury is never cheap. It is, however, cheaper that the competition, which is why the company is successful. They could never compete on price with products produced outdoors during the summer. Their market is products produced out of season.

[@DrawThatFox-rq5sx]

So ecological no plastic in sight 😁. Some would say that it would be more ecological for people to grow their balcony plants on the spot from seeds, but Its apparently more green to transport them from a plastic greenhouse using diesel and trucks 😅

[@adrianabad9823]

Eficiency eficiency, when the company will be 100% efficient, neither the hand labor of workers and owners will be needed. And then, was that the porpouse of the company?

[@a0flj0]

To feed people? You make it sound like keeping people busy with menial work is a good thing. It's not. People should spend more time learning and staying healthy and socialising and doing stuff that grows their knowledge and improves their body and mind than doing repetitive tasks that can be automated.

[@adrianabad9823]

@@a0flj0I agree with you, but if all the companies will be 100% efficient they wouldn't offer jobs, and wouldn't create prosperity in the community.

[@adrianabad9823]

Only machines will be working

[@a0flj0]

@@adrianabad9823 Which is exactly why rich countries already discuss handing out a minimal salary to everybody, regardless if they are employed or not. Some will be self-motivated to do more than sitting idle all day long, but the ones content to be lazy or incapable to do something useful will be able to afford to stay out of the way without resorting to crime for survival. As for the porpoise of the company, I don't know many companies that have one. In fact, I personally know none ☺️

[@karo2090]

Looks cool but I still prefer food from farmers rather than big corporations

[@afctaylor12]

What's difference. If buy food from farmer 200 or 300 acre's maybe he's independent but anything under 100 won't be profitable anything over 300 he'll be in bed buyer or any of the other pesticide gang

[@virginiamoss7045]

It's a family business, not a big corporation.

[@charabotte1]

Like Tesla is a family business because it's owned by Musk, a family man.

[@charabotte1]

Like Tesla is a family business because it's owned by Musk, a family man.

[@virginiamoss7045]

@@charabotte1 I concede the point.

[@sjondeer8393]

Chemicals, chemicals, chemicals.

[@xx_Joker_xx]

Can't do this in the U.S. ... collecting rain water at all is against the law, for some reason.

[@valevisa8429]

Don't be ridiculous,that's only in the desert states like Arizona or Nevada.

[@xx_Joker_xx]

@@valevisa8429 no, it's not.

[@caravanlifenz]

Some states in the US don't allow it because they think it disrupts the cycle of rainfall seeping back into the earth. Other states worry you'll breed mosquitoes in your rain barrel. A lot of states support rainwater collection done responsibly.

[@hayrettinankarali6946]

dat is waar hun bedrijf opgebouwd hebben in holland regels aanscherpt , recidu controleren in de sloten door waterschappen als ze daar een landbouw gif tegen komen hebben ze sancties soms mag je heel lang niet meer gebruiken die middelen daar, waar strenge milieu regels zijn gaan hun weg naar spanje of africa of duitsland of Kenia, etiopie ,Marokko

[@titanichisete648]

Few comments here. Just because its not a political content.

[@lordneador3724]

I am sorry, but the video is soo badly cut and paced. It feels super random and very badly thought through.

[@matthijs1420]

Technological advances doesn't mean its good for the planet.

[@OzyegenTwo]

Imagine growing marijuana in this greenhouse

[@user-gt1cs5jq6s]

Il metodo di frank? Bisogna importare da Singapore.

[@Fazzrito]

Another example of monopolization by capitalism. This displaces local farmers, they cannot afford to build such multibillion-dollar complexes.

[@ifuego]

ahahaha the're riding a bike inside the factory, but still using plastic packaging

[@woras6204]

❤

[@BritishAnts]

Why do the top 10 comments look automated and very sycophantic? The family look unhinged tbf and this is the industry I’m qualified in!

[@Xerdoz]

Stop dubbing.

[@mur4s4m3]

Family business will hold if you educate children properly. One bad offspring can make the worst decisions and investments and you can't even blame him/her for it

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

No one educated you though U are so jealous of China 1 china alone can bankrupt all of Europe

[@williamlai29]

Wow, this reminds me of the green house strawberry farm from China.

[@charabotte1]

Family business. It doesn't mean anything.

[@islarun4103]

In bush family, 🎉

[@BrotherShalom]

Cutting edge if you consider a total divorce from nature and use of plastics as a good thing.

[@riddiculous13rimon]

The downfall of Europe will cause the uprising of Africa.

[@Sjalabais]

Rain water doesn't contain as much...what? "Lion"? That's fair, lions make a mess of my greenhouses, too.

[@trappytrap405]

Not sure if the question was sarchastic but she said lime.

[@caravanlifenz]

Lime. Like the awful limescale that builds up at the bottom of your kettle.

[@Sjalabais]

Thank you, that makes sense! @@caravanlifenz

[@eleforte]

“Environmentalism without class struggle is just gardening” Mendes, Chico.

[@DeathsGarden-oz9gg]

And it's still monoculture great. Has any of you heard of diversity or Heathy soil with mushroom life for all the plants to connect and talk with others. Also have you never ever heard of geothermal power and heat. Like burning wood what waste wood what waste wood I see byproducts of good trees being made into things to burn. You want to burn something grow bamboo and the dead plants you harvest well let em dry first so it can be burned.

[@Coladudetje]

Maybe the deserts are manmade from those monoculture farms... But some scientists say its a natural thing. But why its expanding alot desert sand i have to cleanfrom roofs and cars?

[@BenjiSun]

this is far more efficient use of space than traditional industrial tract farming, not to mention less use of water, pesticides, etc... geothermal requires geological activity in the region, central Germany is not Iceland, Indonesia, Hawaii, or Japan. sigh

[@gaborrajnai6213]

Why dont you grow flowers, where there is a good climate for it instead? Then you dont need the greenhouse, and the robots, and the heating.

[@freudsigmund72]

because there is a year round demand for these things, and in natural surroundings, you can't harvest year round. also, (and I am not sure if it is the case in this greenhouse, but in greenhouses near where I live it is the case) the CO2 produced for heating, is then fed to the plants to make them grow faster.

[@afctaylor12]

Because they'll die In transport. Most English garden are made up 60 to 70 herbaceous the rest seasonal. Is it a waste of money to buy seasonal bedding yes but so is building and hosting a World cup in the desert. At least seasonal bedding you take cutting and grow on every year nothing is lost. Plus I rather have colour as 4 months winter is miserable.

[@gaborrajnai6213]

I have my doubts. A human being by exhaling alone produce 250 kg of CO2 annually. If anyone would pump back the CO2@@freudsigmund72 to feed the flowers, then everyone would be suffocating.

[@gaborrajnai6213]

I have my doubts. One ton of that woodpulp produce 4 tons of CO2. @@freudsigmund72

[@gaborrajnai6213]

Superfreezing. Insulating a freezer ship is actually more efficient than a greenhouse in the arctic. @@afctaylor12

[@ProfessorFickle]

Its 3 times cheaper to Farm in Latin America than in a Green house.

[@ScheveSneeuwSchuifSchep]

Also a 100 times less efficient so not really cheaper in the end, especially in terms of labour

[@ProfessorFickle]

@@ScheveSneeuwSchuifSchep : lol old news . Latin America has plenty of tractors 🚜

[@ScheveSneeuwSchuifSchep]

@@ProfessorFickle no army of tractors necessary in a greenhouse

[@ProfessorFickle]

@@ScheveSneeuwSchuifSchep 🤦‍♂️ no Green house is comparable to a farmland in terms of cost . Tractors are the ORIGINAL ULTRA EFFICIENT robot-farmer-machines that don’t beak-down so easily (unlike those Flimsy machines, I saw in the video ). The ONLY down side to farms (You ignorantly have not mentioned) is Need to use pesticides.

[@ScheveSneeuwSchuifSchep]

@@ProfessorFickle if that were true then nobody would build greenhouses lol

[@Kim-Jong-Trump]

Make me president of EU, I will solve these illegal immigrant issue.

[@rabbytca]

Irrelevant comment!

[@trip_to_moon]

Capitalism is awesome

[@BANDIT001]

i bet all this workers are from ukrain

[@cfarinho]

Ecology? Are you speaking orwellish?

[@blahblah4129]

This is unnatural. Farmers should be producing our food.

[@afctaylor12]

All are food is un natural everything been breed and grown for are prefence. You think potatoes are natural

[@newworldbro]

living in a home in a society is unnatural too. We were originally nomads

[@valevisa8429]

Don't be so closed minded,green houses are complementing farms.They don't do any harm,but only good.Nowadays farms suffer from scarce water,while these technological wonders ,don't.

[@Simp_Zone]

Yeah except nobody wants to be a farmer nowadays

[@nilslivetlanga9710]

Welcome to 2024. Of course you can support your local artisan farmer also.

[@cardboardmark]

One giant indoor growing space? Yikes. Infestations must be wild and constant.

[@ScheveSneeuwSchuifSchep]

They use ladybugs and other predatory insects as natural pest control, this is very common practice in greenhouses

[@maxsmith3580]

Good luck making it economically viable for cheaper crops like food grains and vegetables. But automation is the future, MNC's will soon pump billions into automated farms and 95% of the farmers will be jobless. Only thing preventing that is farmer lobbies and capital costs, but that is the logical next step.

[@bob.fagg-bois657]

How many jobs has the AI taken away?

[@nilslivetlanga9710]

What has that to do with growing crops in a greenhouse? Unemployment in Germany 3.1 %. Unemployment in the Netherlands 3.5%

[@bob.fagg-bois657]

@@nilslivetlanga9710 It would be down even more if it wasn`t for AI. (or would you prefer a digram)

[@othellox1064]

What Europeans have technology?

[@user-uz5pq1tz6x]

fantastic, they should offer consultancy services so that other countries can also use these techs and farm in a more efficient way