Vertical farming gets hyped as the future of agriculture, but after visiting a commercial setup last year, I'm skeptical it can replace traditional soil-based farming for staple crops. The energy costs alone are staggering—one warehouse in Chicago reportedly uses as much electricity as a small town just for LED lighting and climate control. Yes, it works for leafy greens and herbs, but trying to grow wheat or corn indoors would be absurdly expensive. Should we really be pushing vertical farming as a solution to food security when it's only viable for high-value, low-volume produce?