Description
‘Mission to Mars’ as a title for a book about greenhouse horticulture might seem a bit far fetched. After all, if there is one industry which for decades of its own accord has maintained a high degree of production, innovation and upscaling, it is the Dutch greenhouse horticulture.
But as an encouragement, the title puts the finger exactly on the challenge the Dutch greenhouse horticulture will face in the next couple of decades: producing high- quality food, flowers, and plants in the most unlikely places, for a growing world population. Yes, even on Mars, if need be. And this is no longer a theory.
It all requires a directive concept, a beckoning perspective, a dot on the horizon… Call it what you want. The beckoning perspective which is introduced and explained in this book is the ‘circular greenhouse’ and, by extension, ‘circular greenhouse horticulture’. The circular greenhouse is a greenhouse which produces energy, re-uses and purifies water, and where no chemical pesticides are used.
Circular greenhouse horticulture is greenhouse horticulture in which companies are handed over from one generation to the next, in which entrepreneurs save up and reinvest in innovation, and where employment is used sustainably.
In everyday life, circular reasoning is rarely a good thing. However, when it comes to sustainability, circular reasoning is key. We wish to close the water cycle, or the CO2 cycle, or we wish to give our garbage a new purpose. Therefore, this book is chock-full of circular reasoning, that will be clear. With the circular greenhouse as its guiding concept, LTO Glaskracht Nederland will encourage and facilitate the required innovations in years to come. But the circular greenhouse can also function as an eye-catcher at fairs. A circular greenhouse on Mars, how beautiful would that be? And consider the courses and trainings, focused on circular greenhouse horticulture. Together with its members, the organisation will strive to give shape to this ambition.
And as for Mars: let’s see it happen together that if ever we move there and will have to grow our food, we will make absolutely certain that the first greenhouse on Mars will be Dutch, with Dutch crops, managed by Dutch entrepreneurs. We wouldn’t want to miss out on that honour, would we? Strange? No, no, it’s just a great new step in the adventure called greenhouse horticulture. A step we’ll have to take if we wish to stay ahead.
So, Mission to Mars
