This kind of farming is so right that, so far, only one farm qualifies for certification. Metropolis Farms in Philadelphia is a “vegan-certified farm”. It’s a step beyond organic, using no pesticides, herbicides, GMOs, animal manure or fertilizers like bone meal (a blend of slaughterhouse by-products that helps enrich soil with phosphorous). The standards are so rigorous that there’s just one such farm in the United States. Metropolis Farms uses hydroponics to grow food.

The farm consumes 98 percent less water and 82 percent less energy than traditional growing methods and produce zero runoff waste, in addition to growing food faster since resources are used at maximum efficiency.