Open Agriculture Initiative

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The MIT Open Agriculture Initiative (OpenAg) was founded in 2015 by Caleb Harper as an initiative of the MIT Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [1] The project closed in April 2020 with the departure of Harper from MIT, although the closure was only officially confirmed by MIT a month later in May. [2] [3] The project aimed to develop controlled-environment agriculture platforms called "Food Computers" that operated on a variety of scales, and which might have been used for experimental, educational, or personal use. All of the hardware, software, and data would have been open source, with the intention of creating a standardized open platform for agricultural research and experimentation. [4] In theory, had the project succeeded, it would have enhanced transparency in the agricultural industry and made urban agriculture easier to perform, easing access to fresh foods. [5]

Contents

The OpenAg project received criticism that much of its early positive publicity was based on results that were either exaggerated or outright faked. Staff members told stories of purchasing potted plants from stores and demonstrating them as if they had been grown in "Food Computers". [3] Gizmodo called the project a "Theranos for plants" and said that few, if any, of the Food Computers successfully grew a plant. [6] The project was also buffeted by the resignation of Joichi Ito from the MIT Media Lab, who had helped procure much of the funding for the project.

Food Computer

The Open Agriculture Initiative coined the term "Food Computer" to describe their main product. Originally developed under the MIT CityFARM project, [4] the Food Computer was a controlled-environment agriculture platform that used soilless agriculture technologies including hydroponic and aeroponic systems to grow crops indoors. [7] [8] The Food Computer also used an array of sensors to monitor the internal climate within a specialized growing chamber and adjust it so that the environmental conditions would remain consistent and optimum. [9]

The climate inside of a growing chamber was supposed to be tightly controlled to enhance food production and quality. [10] The data on the climate conditions during a given harvest cycle could be logged online as a "climate recipe", and the phenotypic expressions (observable characteristics) of the plant could also be monitored and recorded. [11] These recipes were recorded in an online database that was to be openly accessible so that climate conditions could be downloaded by other users around the globe. [5]

The term Food Computer was applied generally to any of the Open Agriculture Initiative's controlled-environment systems, or specifically to the smallest model, which was also called a Personal Food Computer. [12] The tabletop-sized unit was intended for use in homes, classrooms, and small-scale experimental facilities. [13] The mid-sized model, or Food Server, was the size of an internationally-standardized shipping container, and would utilize vertical farming structures. [14] It was intended for use in cafeterias, restaurants, local grocers, and large-scale experimental facilities. The largest versions of the Food Computer were to be warehouse-sized Food Data Centers that would function on the level of industrial crop production. [9] [13]

Food Computers were never commercially available. As of 2016, there were six prototype Personal Food Computers operating in schools around the Boston area, and three Food Servers operating at MIT, Michigan State University, and Unidad Guadalajara (Cinvestav) in Mexico. [15] Build directions and schematics were available for makers and hobbyists, [16] while more-widespread availability was expected once manufacturing began. [16]

Open Phenome Library

Various climate conditions including temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide and oxygen levels, pH of water, electrical conductivity of water, and exposure to various nutrients, fertilizers, and chemicals influence whether a plant grows and also how it grows. [17] Different climate conditions can lead to different phenotypic expressions in plants that are genotypically very similar or identical. The various traits that a plant expresses, including color, size, texture, yield, growth rate, flavor, and nutrient density, make up its phenome. [18] OpenAg aimed to crowd source related research, and to create an open library of phenome data that relates external climate conditions to specific phenotypic expressions in various plants. [19] [20]

Affiliations and funding

The Open Agriculture Initiative was primarily funded through the MIT Media Lab, which was almost 100% industrially funded through corporate memberships. [21] [22] The Open Agriculture Initiative had also received specific endorsements from members such as IDEO, Lee Kum Kee, Target, Unilever, and Welspun. [23] OpenAg also received additional investments and philanthropic contributions from companies and institutions unaffiliated with the Media Lab. [23]

Criticism

Allegations of scientific misconduct

In September 2019, former employees at Fenome, the startup spun off from OpenAg, openly discussed the failure of their Food Computers to maintain the controlled environment required for growing food. [24] They alleged that photographic results and growth data had been falsified for presentations to investors and the general public. [25] A series of internal emails sent by Babak Babakinejad, the former lead scientist of the project, backed up these allegations. [24] [26]

Further investigations in November showed that the Food Computers which principal investigator Harper claimed had been sent to a refugee camp for Syrian refugees in Azraq [27] had instead been sent to a World Food Programme office in Amman, where they failed to grow food. [28]

Environmental concerns

In September 2019, Boston radio station WBUR published a report detailing charges that the OpenAg initiative lab at MIT's Bates Research and Engineering Center in Middleton had been dumping nitrogen-laden hydroponics solution into the wastewater system at levels above the state's mandated limits of 10 ppm, leading to an investigation by the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). [29]

MIT was assessed a fine of $25,125 for this violation. MIT agreed to pay $15,000 and to close a wastewater injection well, and to prepare a wastewater management plan for MassDEP approval. [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phenotype</span> Composite of the organisms observable characteristics or traits

In genetics, the phenotype is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological properties, its behavior, and the products of behavior. An organism's phenotype results from two basic factors: the expression of an organism's genetic code and the influence of environmental factors. Both factors may interact, further affecting the phenotype. When two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species, the species is called polymorphic. A well-documented example of polymorphism is Labrador Retriever coloring; while the coat color depends on many genes, it is clearly seen in the environment as yellow, black, and brown. Richard Dawkins in 1978 and then again in his 1982 book The Extended Phenotype suggested that one can regard bird nests and other built structures such as caddisfly larva cases and beaver dams as "extended phenotypes".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable agriculture</span> Farming approach that balances environmental, economic and social factors in the long term

Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem services. There are many methods to increase the sustainability of agriculture. When developing agriculture within sustainable food systems, it is important to develop flexible business process and farming practices. Agriculture has an enormous environmental footprint, playing a significant role in causing climate change, water scarcity, water pollution, land degradation, deforestation and other processes; it is simultaneously causing environmental changes and being impacted by these changes. Sustainable agriculture consists of environment friendly methods of farming that allow the production of crops or livestock without damage to human or natural systems. It involves preventing adverse effects to soil, water, biodiversity, surrounding or downstream resources—as well as to those working or living on the farm or in neighboring areas. Elements of sustainable agriculture can include permaculture, agroforestry, mixed farming, multiple cropping, and crop rotation.

In agriculture, succession planting refers to several planting methods that increase crop availability during a growing season by making efficient use of space and timing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban agriculture</span> Farming in cities and urban areas

Urban agriculture refers to various practices of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in urban areas. The term also applies to the area activities of animal husbandry, aquaculture, beekeeping, and horticulture in an urban context. Urban agriculture is distinguished from peri-urban agriculture, which takes place in rural areas at the edge of suburbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquaponics</span> System combining aquaculture with hydroponics in a symbiotic environment

Aquaponics is a food production system that couples aquaculture with hydroponics whereby the nutrient-rich aquaculture water is fed to hydroponically grown plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cultured meat</span> Animal flesh product created outside of a living animal

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<i>Parthenium argentatum</i> Species of plant in the Asteraceae family native to the southwestern United States and Mexico

Parthenium argentatum, commonly known as the guayule, is a perennial woody shrub in the family Asteraceae that is native to the rangeland area of the Chihuahuan Desert; including the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It was first documented by J.M. Bigelow in 1852 through the Mexican Boundary Survey and was first described by Asa Gray. Natural rubber, ethanol, non-toxic adhesives, and other specialty chemicals can be extracted from guayule. An alternative source of latex that is hypoallergenic, unlike the normal Hevea rubber, can also be extracted. While Castilla elastica was the most widely used rubber source of Mesoamericans in pre-Columbian times, guayule was also used, though less frequently. The name "guayule" derives from the Nahuatl word ulli/olli, "rubber".

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical agriculture</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vertical farming</span> Practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate-smart agriculture</span> System for agricultural productivity

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an integrated approach to managing land to help adapt agricultural methods, livestock and crops to the effects of climate change and, where possible, counteract it by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, while taking into account the growing world population to ensure food security. The emphasis is not simply on carbon farming or sustainable agriculture, but also on increasing agricultural productivity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture</span> Agricultures effects on climate change

The amount of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture is significant: The agriculture, forestry and land use sector contribute between 13% and 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture contributes towards climate change through direct greenhouse gas emissions and by the conversion of non-agricultural land such as forests into agricultural land. Emissions of nitrous oxide and methane make up over half of total greenhouse gas emission from agriculture. Animal husbandry is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.

References

  1. ↑ Matt McFarland (17 June 2015). "Inside an MIT researcher's grand plan to create the personal food computer". Washington Post.
  2. ↑ Cohen, Noam (25 October 2019). "Troubled M.I.T. Media Lab Food Project Closes, for Now". New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. 1 2 Cohen, Noam (May 13, 2020). "M.I.T. Closes 'Food Computer' Project After Scientists Raised Doubts" – via NYTimes.com.
  4. 1 2 "Group Overview ‹ Open Agriculture (OpenAg)". MIT Media Lab.
  5. 1 2 "OpenAg Initiative — Farming for the Future". mit.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  6. ↑ "MIT Built a Theranos for Plants". Gizmodo.
  7. ↑ Looper, Christian de (July 2, 2015). "The Personal Food Computer Is A Farm For Your Apartment". Tech Times.
  8. ↑ Nitya Rajan (5 Nov 2015). "Food Computer Set To Alleviate Global Food Crisis Using 'Climate Recipes'". www.huffingtonpost.co.uk.
  9. 1 2 Heather Hansman. "What Is a Personal Food Computer?". Smithsonian.
  10. ↑ "MIT Open Ag Project". Google Docs.
  11. ↑ "Food Computer Set To Alleviate Global Food Crisis Using 'Climate Recipes'". The Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  12. ↑ "Food Computers".
  13. 1 2 "Food Computers". mit.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  14. ↑ "The Wikipedia Of Farming Is Here". Popular Science.
  15. ↑ "Now What With Ryan Duffy | AOL.com". on.aol.com.
  16. 1 2 "Build". mit.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  17. ↑ "Great Plant Escape - Growing plants indoors". web.extension.illinois.edu.
  18. ↑ "The Genotype/Phenotype Distinction". stanford.edu.
  19. ↑ "The Wikipedia Of Farming Is Here". Popular Science.
  20. ↑ Harper, Caleb; Siller, Mario (October 30, 2015). "OpenAG: A Globally Distributed Network of Food Computing". IEEE Pervasive Computing. 14 (4): 24–27. doi:10.1109/MPRV.2015.72. S2CID   1963859.
  21. ↑ "Corporate Research Partner - MIT Media Lab". mit.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
  22. ↑ "Member companies". MIT Media Lab.
  23. 1 2 "Team". mit.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  24. 1 2 Cohen, Noam (2019-09-22). "M.I.T. Media Lab, Already Rattled by the Epstein Scandal, Has a New Worry". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  25. ↑ "MIT's Media Lab has an ambitious project that purports to revolutionize agriculture. Insiders say it's mostly smoke and mirrors". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  26. ↑ "Hype vs. Reality at the MIT Media Lab". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2019-09-11. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  27. ↑ "How to grow food with a computer in Jordan | WFP Innovation". innovation.wfp.org. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  28. ↑ "MIT Media Lab Scientist Used Syrian Refugees to Tout Food Computers That Didn't Work". IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  29. ↑ Lisa Song, Max Larkin (2019-09-20). "MIT Media Lab Kept Regulators in the Dark, Dumped Chemicals in Excess of Legal Limit". ProPublica. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  30. ↑ "MassDEP Review 2019". Bates Research and Engineering Center. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
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