When you think of nontraditional farming methods or agricultural engineering, you may picture greenhouse-type configurations of Bluetooth-enabled seed beds. You might also see stacked shipping containers filled with row after row of greens, herbs, and vegetables.

Indeed, today’s farming is quite different from the farming of just a generation or two ago. But in many cases, agriculture conglomerates have purchased independent farms to create megasize industrial farms that are good for one thing: churning out lots of food. Sure, it feeds the beast of modern food supply, but at the current pace of production, these megafarms won’t be capable of keeping up with the population of the future—and they certainly don’t appeal to consumers who worry about the impact of their food choices on the environment.