Pink Food

The demand for food in urban areas is greater now than it ever was before. The UK currently imports 50% of the food we eat. To avoid large carbon footprints, scientists are experimenting with vertically stacked shelf systems, in insulated warehouses, using heat sources from LED lights to grow salad leaves.  

These plants would normally use white light wavelengths from the sun for photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide and water into sugars and oxygen. The reason why salad greens look green to us is because they reflect this part of the light spectrum. White light is actually made up of different wavelengths of visible light. When we see a rainbow, the white light has been refracted after is rains, splitting the light up into constituent colours, such as red, yellow, green and blue. 

The most efficient light that is absorbed by the leaves of plants, is the red and blue light. Therefore, by mixing the colours of light, you can alter the flavour, colour, oil content, flowering time and the antioxidant concentrations of the plant. LED light won't burn the leaves and is also 30%  more efficient than conventional lighting. If we abandon natural sunlight altogether, indoor farming can become more viable. We can use artificial sunlight 24 hours a day, all year round. This is also a much needed back up for conventional farming and also tackles the substainability issues. So, in years to come, we may see pink lettuce. 

The pink sheep have been coloured with food colouring, as part of the Breast Cancer awareness week and have also brought an added dash of colour to our dreary spring conditions.