Does tech have a place in open source agriculture?

Some food reformers are looking to small, decentralized, computer-driven hydroponic and aeroponic food production as an exciting frontier of farming, especially in cities. As Grist reports, advocates point to farmers’ long history of collaborative DIY knowledge-sharing and invention, and argue that this mode of growing food could help loosen the stranglehold that giant corporations have in agriculture. Hackers and some venture capitalists have been enthusiastic, too. But others are raising questions about how energy-intensive these methods are, as well as whether they’re practical for foods beyond the usual leafy greens that we see coming out of high-tech farms.