The Greenhouses of Almeria: The Garden of Europe

Simon's Social Media:

This video is #sponsored by Finimize.

Simon's Other Channels:

[jacobhuff]

I came here to see a Megaproject video and got a lesson in economics, logistics and supply chains of fresh produce. Good job, Simon.

[Memento]

My father's family lives there and have worked in and owned greenhouses since the 80s. Your video is quite accurate. Also in underscoring how problems, enviromental and social, are so hard to address. The economic forces are simply too strong. Nobody in this system has really much of a choice. Anyways, outside this megastructure, Almeria is actually a nice place to be!

[azargelin]

Topic idea: The great man made river in Libya which is one of the biggest irrigation systems in the world at the cost of 25 billion and 4000 km of concrete pipes. Its pumping water from the Sahara to the cost line. This is done for a country with a population of 6 million

And btw the bigger pipes are large enough for a truck to fit in them.

[currotrololo]

Hey Simon, I'm Spanish and I live next to this place and after watching this video I have to say a couple of things:
first about working conditions, I have many friends who have worked here and yes, conditions are horrible: extra hours that go nowhere, working sundays, etc. but inside this green houses of course you can find spanish workers and the major part of the inmigrants are not treated in such a bad way. As you say in the video, there are abuses that must to be solved, of course, but I think I'ts important to point out that this still a minority and the major parts of the inmigrants come here, work and improve their lives. (again, those problems should not exist)
Second about envirionment: This is not (yet) an envirionmental dissaster. Actually worst pollutants are nitrates that come from pesticides used (without any regulation) in the green houses. This problem affects the ground and groundwater. The waste problems are different and again I want to pint out that local governments and companies are making big efforts to reduce the impact of plastic and plants waste.
In general, I think things are not perfect but have been improoving through last years and I hope it continue improoving. I just want to give the vision from inside, for me it looks like spain always takes the worst news. People here worked a lot (and still working) to take this place to this point, in the 40's this was basically the north of Africa and I think is not fair for us to speak only bad words about this.

[lukeboyuk]

really interesting Simon. I knew nothing of this at all

[LabolasGlasya]

i live in europe and i never ever heard of this. im kinda shocked. im aware that a lot of mediterranean fruits and vegetable come from spain like oranges and stuff but i never knew something that vast exists.

[dewiz]

I worked in Canada’s Salmonella Epidemiology Laboratory from 1965 to 1968. It was well known that at that time, canned goods which had been pulled from the shelves due to suspected Salmonella contamination would be shipped to Spain. . . I suspect (hope?) that this is no longer the case. . .

[BTFOOMNY]

Hey, Simon, in your myriad collection of video identities, have you ever done a video about the fake town built as camouflage on the Boeing factory roof during World War II?

[Disc]

I literally asked about this yesterday....THANKS SIMON!!!! :)

[kaiyack]

Across the pond, Leamington Ontario has the largest concentration of greenhouse in N. America and is also visible from space. Also Russia is building greenhouses like crazy because of european sanctions.

[stuffnthingsb.c]

That’s amazing to see. Makes us wonder where are food comes from. Thanks Simon and Danny in the basement and Sam.

[thetangieman]

Simon, thank you. I realized today your various channels have been essential in preserving my sanity through this ridiculous year. You sir, are the Legend.

[anarchyantz]

Megaproject Suggestion. Longest deep bore ice core in Antarctica. Took years, loads of drama with it and they found some cool stuff like a fresh water lake under the ice containing previously unknown lifeforms. Would go Well with the other hole projects that are popular
Speaking of deep holes, how about the Kidd Mine as well

[augsdoggs]

This was one of the most informative Mega Project episodes that I've seen (I've seen all of them). I had no prior knowledge of the existence of this region, yet in 15 mins you've managed to cover the basics from several different angles. Well done.

[ignitionfrn]

2:30 - Chapter 1 - Europe's fruits & vegetables
3:45 - Chapter 2 - The 1960s
4:45 - Chapter 3 - Early greenhouses
6:05 - Chapter 4 - Intensive farming
7:15 - Mid roll ads
8:55 - Chapter 5 - Workers
10:50 - Chapter 6 - Problems further the chain
11:50 - Chapter 7 - The cost of cheap produce
- Chapter 8 -

[andriiyeromenkov]

This is a great topic and a very interesting episode, more of that kind of content will be much appreciated

[paulbradford]

I first learned of this area by watching the Netflix series, "Mar de Plastico." It's a detective-murder mystery series. Then I google-mapped the area. It's astonishing how vast and complex the area really is.

[derekgargan]

I live in the area, but instead of the greenhouses its sheets of plastic on the ground and millions of lettuce grown around my house, a lot of the plastic is cut but the tractor during harvest and gets blown everywhere by the winds, lots of small tornadoes daily. My land fences and trees are constantly covered and cleaning up is full time job in itself. But lots of free veg to be had.

[joshuahudson]

Here is a megaproject. The USS Monitor. She may not have been huge, but the impact on naval warfare was massive. She ended wooden sailing warships and warships with rows of guns, had more than 40 patentable components, and the world's first rotating turret ever to be used in battle. She is the true ancestor to all modern warships.

[nrtstealth]

Can we get an episode about the arecibo radio telescope