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The Future of Farming: Programming perfect produce

Saturday, June 3, 2017
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Self-described “nerd farmer,” Caleb Harper, and his team at MIT have created a greenhouse with a brain: these “Food Computers” are enclosed, managed containers that allow you to create the perfect conditions for healthy crops.  The fish-tank-sized farming computer allows Harper to simulate any environment within its glass walls, from ideal tomato-growing weather to the predicted climate and atmospheric conditions of New York in the year 2117. Want to grow a flawless Mexican strawberry in New Jersey?  No problem. Professor Harper and Joe Brown, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science, demonstrate how this amazing machine came to exist, and how it can be used in our kitchens, schools, and farms going forward.  So grab a seat, pour yourself a glass of wine, and get ready to taste the future.

This program is presented in collaboration with Popular Science and Saveur.

Participants

Christopher BurgessChef

Chef Christopher Burgess is currently the executive chef/owner of Fresh Kitchen, where he spends his time between the kitchen and local organic hydroponic farms. Burgess grew up working in kitchens, where he learned at an early age that quality food was an essential ingredient to good living.

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Caleb HarperDirector of the Open Agriculture Initiative at MIT

Caleb Harper is the Principal Investigator and Director of the Open Agriculture (Open Ag) Initiative at the MIT Media Lab. He leads a diverse group of engineers, architects, and scientists in the exploration and development of future food systems.

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Joe BrownEditor-in-Chief of Popular Science

Joe Brown is the Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science. He has made his career as a science and tech journalist and editor, with a passion for modernizing high-quality magazine-style journalism.

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