These days it seems that the harder it is to grow plants in a location, the more people want to do it. Urban agriculture and rooftop gardens are thriving in cities worldwide, requiring some to valiantly haul tons of dirt to the top of many-storied buildings. Astronauts farm in space (not the ick-factor kind that Matt Damon does in The Martian). In New York City, the Lowline, an under-development underground recreation park, is working on growing pineapples beneath the concrete on the Lower East Side.

These are all amazing projects, with beauty and research that will benefit pollinators such as bees and Monarch butterflies that we need to grow much of our food. But there is lower-hanging fruit