Hydroponic lettuces with positive eco-balance
60% less fertilizer, 70% less water and eight times less land area: this is the balance of the new hydroponic lettuces offered at Migros.
From Tuesday, lettuces from hydroponics will be available at Migros for the first time. These grow in greenhouses - but in water instead of soil.
This cultivation method has ecological advantages: For one thing, it requires eight times less land, 70% less water and 60% less fertilizer than conventional lettuce cultivation to produce the same amount of lettuce. In addition, the lettuce can be grown all year round, which means that less lettuce has to be imported during the cold season. This saves gray energy.
Although the greenhouse must be heated, it is operated in a CO2-neutral manner: The heating energy is waste heat from the neighboring waste incineration plant.
Study confirms eco-balance
A comparative life cycle assessment study was commissioned from the Swiss climate protection foundation "myclimate" for the plant. The study gave the hydro production plant excellent marks. "This plant is an excellent example of sustainable production. On a relatively small area, production is very resource-efficient and thus has a much lower impact on the environment and climate," says Kai Landwehr, media spokesman for "myclimate", summarizing the results of the study*.
