"In countries like Japan, where land is actually a very scarce resource, it makes more sense to stack your production, just like a skyscraper," says JJ Price, Spread's global marketing manager.

Mr Price told the BBC that this method of vertical farming not only reduces costs by 50%, but it is also greener. LED lights cut energy bills by a third, and 98% of water can be recycled. By growing crops close to where people consume them, transport costs and emissions are also minimised, he says. They hope to be producing 30,000 lettuces per day next year.

And where will we buy this futuristic food? Perhaps in shops with no staff? Amazon has recently launched its first Amazon Go store in the US, which has no checkouts. Customers simply pick their items from the shelves, and technology does the rest.

All this begs the question: if everything is automated, what jobs will people do? The mechanisation of farming means fewer and fewer people work the land. From 1950 to 2010, agricultural labourers have decreased from 81% to 48.2% of the workforce in developing countries, and from 35% to 4.2% in developed countries, according to the International Labour Organization. It’s a trend that looks set to continue.

词汇表

to set foot (in) 去（某处）

automated 自动化的

fleet 舰队、船队

robotics 机器人技术

sector 行业，领域

on the up 蒸蒸日上的，稳步上升的

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