Space Ship based Hydroponics

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Running Wolf

The tech level, looking at just the plants being grown would make a difference. Was just watching something last night, at our current TL if we went 100% organic farming instead of being able to feed the world population we would only be able to feed 2/3rds of it.

While many people vilify "frankenfood" gene engineered plants and animals can tip the scales in the population/open space equation. The closed eco-system of a starship would provide some strange situations for an adventure also..... some of the pollen gets out and you take it to a planet. Or you bring somethign up that kills your food crops.... but that would go with any alien/invasive species of plants or animals not just GE stuff.

I cringe every time I read such a sentence. All Terran lifeforms are organic, to the point that living and organic are often interchangeably used (not that it is correct - organics can be dead, such as plastic). The idea of silicon-based farming is a fun one. Rock gardens, anyone?

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

I cringe every time I read such a sentence. All Terran lifeforms are organic, to the point that living and organic are often interchangeably used (not that it is correct - organics can be dead, such as plastic). The idea of silicon-based farming is a fun one. Rock gardens, anyone?

As long as we are on that level of purism, nearly every product of agriculture is the result of genetic engineering (and has been for the whole of history).

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

As long as we are on that level of purism, nearly every product of agriculture is the result of genetic engineering (and has been for the whole of history).

While true it avoids the real issue of introducing new life forms to ecosystems always being dangerous.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

While true it avoids the real issue of introducing new life forms to ecosystems always being dangerous.

That's just as true of organisms produced by selective breeding as it is of organisms produced by recombinant engineering. Besides I don't think that ecological concerns is the basis for most people's fear of GM food, but rather some alarmist sense of mad science.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

That's just as true of organisms produced by selective breeding as it is of organisms produced by recombinant engineering. Besides I don't think that ecological concerns is the basis for most people's fear of GM food, but rather some alarmist sense of mad science.

Genetic engineering is dangerous for the same reason it is so useful... it's hella' faster and more efficient.
Just because loads of idiots don't like something doesn't automatically make it safe. Slightly right for the wrong reasons, eh?

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

As long as we are on that level of purism, nearly every product of agriculture is the result of genetic engineering (and has been for the whole of history).

True. This is why I dislike hearing stuff like 'there was no bio-tech before TL8'. Sure there was. It's called nomad horticulture.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

This is why I dislike hearing stuff like 'there was no bio-tech before TL8'.

How does that even come up?
GURPS Bio-Tech definitely doesn't say this (and in fact discusses Selective Breeding, and even has a AH setting with a TL2 divergence point).

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

I cringe every time I read such a sentence. All Terran lifeforms are organic, to the point that living and organic are often interchangeably used (not that it is correct - organics can be dead, such as plastic). The idea of silicon-based farming is a fun one. Rock gardens, anyone?

There's this thing about English where you've got to accept that words mean different things in different contexts.

The word 'organic' means something quite different when talking about farming than when talking about chemistry. This is a feature, not a bug.

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Spaceships says that one Open Space system (presumably meaning all the areas in that system) can provide enough food for the whole crew- what kind of production rates does that imply then?

After some homework, I found that most consumption rates are given in calories, which wasn't so helpful for what I was after. But Google does tell me that the average human consumes 1500lbs of food a year- I don't know how accurate or representative that is, but it's a useful starting figure. One of my sample SM+10 spaceships has 130 people on board, so using that and the figures in Spaceships on Open System sizes, I get-
Daily consumption of ~530lbs of food/day
Production per acre is ~2100lbs/day
Which is 480kgs/hectare/day for the metric-minded.

I'm no agriculturalist, but I suspect any modern day farmer would be ecstatic to get those sort of crop yields.

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

There's this thing about English where you've got to accept that words mean different things in different contexts.

The word 'organic' means something quite different when talking about farming than when talking about chemistry. This is a feature, not a bug.

Seconded.

[Dangerious P. Cats]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

How would mushrooms fare in a spaceship hydroponic farm?

Mushrooms would be a fantastic idea! They don't have the problem of light that other plants have and you can feed them on excrement (although that would mean that crews might be affected in the medication they could take, as some drugs can bio-accumulate). Also they will be a tasty and snack sized source of protein, which would be one of the harder things to get from just plants (outside of that you'd just need vitamin B12).