Vertical Farming: The Future of Urban Farming?

[gvstudent]

I can across this website, www.verticalfarm.com I guess they are popular in Queensland Australia. Here is an excerpt:

The Problem

By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth's population will reside in urban centers. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about 3 billion people during the interim. An estimated 10⁹ hectares of new land (about 20% more land than is represented by the country of Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming practices continue as they are practiced today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use (sources: FAO and NASA). Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices. What can be done to avoid this impending disaster?

A Potential Solution: Farm Vertically

The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes, a wide variety of herbs, and other produce has been in vogue for some time. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another 3 billion people. An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be invented, employing cutting edge technologies. The Vertical Farm must be efficient (cheap to construct and safe to operate). Vertical farms, many stories high, will be situated in the heart of the world's urban centers. If successfully implemented, they offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (year-round crop production), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.

It took humans 10,000 years to learn how to grow most of the crops we now take for granted. Along the way, we despoiled most of the land we worked, often turning verdant, natural ecozones into semi-arid deserts. Within that same time frame, we evolved into an urban species, in which 60% of the human population now lives vertically in cities. This means that, for the majority, we humans are protected against the elements, yet we subject our food-bearing plants to the rigors of the great outdoors and can do no more than hope for a good weather year. However, more often than not now, due to a rapidly changing climate regime, that is not what follows. Massive floods, protracted droughts, class 4-5 hurricanes, and severe monsoons take their toll each year, destroying millions of tons of valuable crops. Don't our harvestable plants deserve the same level of comfort and protection that we now enjoy? The time is at hand for us to learn how to safely grow our food inside environmentally controlled multistory buildings within urban centers. If we do not, then in just another 50 years, the next 3 billion people will surely go hungry, and the world will become a much more unpleasant place in which to live.

Advantages of Vertical Farming

Year-round crop production; 1 indoor acre is equivalent to 4-6 outdoor acres or more, depending upon the crop (e.g., strawberries: 1 indoor acre = 30 outdoor acres)No weather-related crop failures due to droughts, floods, pestsAll VF food is grown organically: no herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers VF virtually eliminates agricultural runoff by recycling black waterVF returns farmland to nature, restoring ecosystem functions and servicesVF greatly reduces the incidence of many infectious diseases that are acquired at the agricultural interfaceVF converts black and gray water into potable water by collecting the water of

evapotranspirationVF adds energy back to the grid via methane generation from composting non-edible

parts of plants and animals VF dramatically reduces fossil fuel use (no tractors, plows, shipping.)VF converts abandoned urban properties into food production centersVF creates sustainable environments for urban centersVF creates new employment opportunitiesWe cannot go to the moon, Mars, or beyond without first learning to farm indoors on

earthVF may prove to be useful for integrating into refugee campsVF offers the promise of measurable economic improvement for tropical and subtropical

LDCs. If this should prove to be the case, then VF may be a catalyst in helping to reduce or even reverse the population growth of LDCs as they adopt urban agriculture as a strategy for sustainable food production. VF could reduce the incidence of armed conflict over natural resources, such as water

and land for agriculture

We may not have to dedicate a whole building to farming but it could help some businesses. If you think about it our windows in our tall buildings are underutilized. I know this concept is out there but I think it could work in GR. Being able to grow produce locally year round would be for our cold climate.

[Rhino6885]

Oh God yes.

Peep this gvstudent: http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/Communit...mer-t48192.html

The idea makes so much sense--less land to feed more people. I too hope we see some ideas like this come to fruition (no pun intended) in GR.

[crinzema]

Population control is much more of a practical means to solve the problem if it ever becomes a problem. Creating skyscrapers to feed people is expensive and a great way to starve the poor.

[Tesseract]

Square-foot gardening is another good way to go. The average flowerbed could produce enough vegetables to make a significant difference in one's diet, if not budget.

[d8alterego]

Would any local developer (or is that corporate farm?) attempt such a project? I think it would be a fascinating idea if GR undertook a project like this to see if it works. If GR could be the first to add floride to its public water system, could it be the first to build a vertical farm? Being based in an agricultural region, it would make sense that GR would try to invent new ways of farming. Maybe then we could lure MSU's agriculture department west side as well!