I don’t know how I actually feel about it, but farming is a business and if hydroponics yield more product faster with less labour and cost you can’t blame the farms for turning to it .

If people are concerned about quality and want a more down to earth product they can always seek out farmers markets in their area.

Neither, I prefer food reconstituted from base atoms

Hydroponics are going to be a fact of life in the not so distant future because it’s the only way we’ll grow enough food to feed 10+ billion people. Lab grown meat will also be a thing.

Don’t be fooled by the ‘local’ farm thing. Those farms are more than likely owned by giant agribusinesses. The irony of the US farm bill is that those subsidies are gobbled up by VERY wealthy farmers with multiple farms…not the independent farmer that is used as a straw man to defend the subsidies.

I love the hydroponic veggies and fruits that I buy. I’m pretty sure they are pesticide free, I’m going to double check that. My town has hydroponic farms, I buy the bib lettuce, micro greens, and sometimes the tomatoes.

I think hydroponic is great! Especially, if they can control the nutrients and are working at making the produce nutrient rich. I don’t know how well that is followed.

They can be grown all year, which means it can be “local” at least in the sense of picking ripe and less transportation time, less gas used, less emissions, etc. Some things can’t be grown hydroponically, like I think root veggies can’t be.

The hydroponic here are pesticide free. I assume that’s true everywhere. Here’s the page about the farm here. https://thevillagesgrown.com/farms/

Nearby we have a lot of local regular farms (within 60 miles) that we can go to and pick or buy produce. The local crops vary. I don’t go to do that, but a lot of my friends do.