野菜工場は、電気の光で野菜を育てる工場です。屋内に上下に何段も棚を重ねて作り、そこで野菜を育てます。それぞれの棚で野菜が作れるので、同じ広さの場所でも畑より①多くの野菜を生産することができます。
野菜工場では、畑と違って②環境も人間が作れます。例えば、工場では温度や湿度、野菜が光を浴びる時間も決められるので、外の天気に影響されずに野菜が育ちます。冬に夏の野菜を作ることも可能です。
また、工場は虫などが入りにくいので、農薬（注）を使う必要がありません。ですから、工場で作られた野菜は安心して食べられます。畑で育った野菜より栄養があるものもあるそうです。
野菜を作る人にとっても、いい点があります。畑では作物を地面で育てますから、長時間腰を曲げて働かなければならず、足や腰が痛くなります。しかし、工場では棚を、仕事がしやすい高さにすることができるので、楽に仕事ができます。
こう見てくると、いいことばかりのようですが、問題もあります。まず、工場を作るのにかなりの建設費がかかります。そして、野菜を作るには、電気やエアコンを長時間つけておく必要があるので、電気代もかかります。また、作れる野菜の種類もまだ少ないし、畑で育てた野菜のほうが味がいいと言う人もいます。
現在、国、大学、企業などが協力して、このような問題を解決するための新しい技術の研究を行っています。時間がかかるかもしれませんが、日本のように山が多く、利用できる土地が少ない国では、今後、野菜工場を利用した作物の生産も増やしていかなければならないでしょう。
（注）農薬：ここでは、野菜を虫や病気から守るための薬
AI translation, cross-checked between two models.
A vegetable factory is a facility where vegetables are grown using electric light. Indoors, many layers of shelves are stacked one above another, and vegetables are grown on them. Because vegetables can be grown on every shelf, more vegetables can be produced in the same amount of space than in a field.
In a vegetable factory, unlike in a field, people can also create the growing environment themselves. For example, the temperature, humidity, and even the amount of time the vegetables receive light can be controlled in a factory, so the vegetables can grow without being affected by the weather outside. It is even possible to grow summer vegetables in winter.
In addition, because insects have difficulty entering the factory, there is no need to use agricultural chemicals.（注） Therefore, vegetables grown in factories can be eaten with peace of mind. Some are also said to be more nutritious than vegetables grown in fields.
There are advantages for the people who grow the vegetables as well. In fields, crops are grown on the ground, so workers have to bend over for long periods, which causes pain in their legs and lower backs. In a factory, however, the shelves can be set at a height that makes the work easier, allowing people to work more comfortably.
Looking at it this way, it may seem as though there are nothing but advantages, but there are also problems. First, building a factory requires considerable construction costs. In addition, growing vegetables requires keeping the lights and air conditioning on for long periods, so electricity costs are also high. Furthermore, there are still only a limited number of vegetables that can be grown this way, and some people say that vegetables grown in fields taste better.
At present, the government, universities, companies, and other organizations are working together to research new technologies for solving these problems. It may take time, but in countries like Japan, where there are many mountains and little usable land, it will probably be necessary to increase crop production using vegetable factories in the future.
(Note) Agricultural chemicals: here, chemicals used to protect vegetables from insects and disease
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