The world's first veggie factory?

Vegetables grow on farms, right? Sure. But one day soon they may be made in factories.

In Japan, construction is underway on what’s billed as the world’s first large-scale vegetable factory. When completed two years from now, it will be capable of producing 30,000 heads of lettuce per day.

The 52,000 square foot facility in Kyoto is the brainchild of Spread Co., a vertical farming company that already has a smaller veggie factory producing four types of lettuce shipped to 2,000 Japanese stores.

The new factory will cost $22 million to build. It will be automated, using LED lights to minimize electricity costs.

Spread Co. says it’s vertical farming techniques (in which veggies are grown on trays that reach up to the ceiling apartment-style,) recycle 98% of water used in the cultivation process.

It’s not the only company aiming to grow food in factories within cities. In Vancouver, a company called Verticrop is trying to get funding to get its own vertical veggie plant constructed.

Read the full story here.