Not that we condone fast food or anything — because we don’t, it is unhealthy for us and the environment — but we can’t say we weren’t fascinated by what this Japanese Subway sandwich shop is doing. They’ve started growing hydroponic lettuce right in the middle of the store – talk about local ingredients! In order to make this truly sustainable, they’d have to start growing all of their veggies in-house, but for now, this is a great start. Not only is this hyper-local lettuce healthy, it’s a great visual centerpiece for the space.

The Subway has only made a small start due to their limited space, but they can top about 5% of their sandwiches with this hydroponic greenery. It would be a tough task to make enough lettuce in house to top all of their footlong subs, as they’re throwing mountains of it onto each sandwich. In order to get to 100% they’d probably have to line all the walls, windows, ceilings and floors with hydroponic growing spaces — now wouldn’t that be a cool green interior?

With fast food sandwiches growing unhealthier by the day, something needs to be done to reform the system. A burger from Wendy’s or McDonald’s can be up to 50% of your daily suggested fat intake and a Subway footlong ham sandwich has exactly 100% of your daily recommended sodium intake. At least this Japanese Subway is taking small steps toward healthier ingredients. Perhaps if their sales skyrocket, other chains will take notice and up their healthy options. Here’s to wishing!

+ The hydroponic Subway

Via Gizmodo