Modified Environmental Agriculture is the term applied to greenhouse growing that reduces the impact of weather conditions on plant growth but offers minimum control of the actual growing environment. Simple greenhouses, lightweight movable frames and modern high-tunnel houses used for traditional agricultural crops are considered MEA applications, and serve to expand the availability of fresh fruit and vegetable crops, ornamental landscape plants, flowers, herbs, mushrooms and other plant species, allowing consumers more consistent access to products they want.
Because most MEA applications are relatively low tech, such greenhouses can also be extremely varied and economical. In urban and suburban areas, such greenhouses are sometimes operated as community gardens, or established to provide local access to otherwise unavailable fresh and nutritional food for area residents, or as part of an educational program or not-for-profit effort.
