Traditional farming should be for non-human ingestion. There’s too much “bad” in it through normal conventions. And this isn’t even talking about our dependence on fertilizers and the growing threat of a next dust bowl.

It is labor intensive but not that much. When I tried before the pandemic the routine was very dialed in and mostly starting the seed then harvest. Using targeted water and feeding schedules, it was mostly set it and forget it with ample excess.

Finally, the more control we have of the process and the inputs, the ability we will have to eliminate microplastics from the end product. Specifically, my butter and romaine lettuce growing hydroponically in my basement would not have shown traces of microplastics. If it did, I would’ve quickly altered the necessary piece of the puzzle.