Green roofs, horizontal farming, underground farms, and living walls are making their way into a new trend of modern city farming. In the past, there was plenty of space and farmers to grow crops, tend the land, and businesses to sell their fresh food. Today’s urban environments demand creative strategies to continue the farming trend.
Take a teacher from the Bronx, for example. Within the limits of this New York city, he’s created a system to grow fresh food on walls and the school’s rooftop.
Could vertical farming be the wave of future success?
Vacant lot converted into a farm
With a 6,234 ft elevation and a fairly long winter season, Jackson, Wyoming may be the most unlikely of places to consider farming. (1) Not only that, but it can also be an expensive place to garden; the average cost of an empty lot can be well over a million dollars. (2)
Despite challenges, the town is home to one of the few vertical farms in the world. A start up company, Vertical Harvest, decided to purchase an empty lot and build a three-story greenhouse filled with crops, micro-greens, and tomatoes. (2,3)
This small lot and building are owned by the town, so Vertical Harvest partnered with Jackson to make their venture a success. The founders spent five years working with the people in the city to merge the idea into a business model that is efficient and productive. (2)
“One of the things the town of Jackson was concerned with was if we were using more energy than if tomatoes were trucked in here,” says Nona Yehia, the architect of the vertical farm and one of the company’s co-founders. Greenhouses do typically use a lot of energy, especially in a cold climate, but the math worked out, in part because of the farm’s design. (2)
Vertical farming means more access for city dwellers
No sun, no soil? No problem. Vertical farms on multiple stories often have a hydroponic system and contain artificial lights to imitate the sun, which can be an attractive way to produce food with less water, waste, and space than the traditional farming methods. Some say that it leaves a smaller footprint on the environment as well. (4)
According to the United Nations projects, it is projected that the world’s population will reach about 9.6 billion people by 2050 and approximately 86% of these people will live in cities. With the rising population, there will be more demand from city dwellers to access to fresh, nutritious foods all year round. (4,5)
What are the pros and cons?
Some believe vertical farming will prove to be a success while others have doubts. According to one source, vertical farming has the potential to be successful. Vertical farms can defy any weather, respond well to climate change, adapt to disaster, can become more advanced, and save lives. You can also produce a great amount of food in a small space. (4)
Others think that vertical farming costs way too much money and find it silly to grow food under artificial light. Not only that, but the prices of food may increase. (6)
What’s your take on this? Do you think this new farming trend is a good idea or is it better to stick with traditional farming methods?
Sources for this article include:
(1) en.wikipedia.org
(2) m.fastcompany.com
(3) www.verticalharvestjackson.com
(4) ecowatch.com
(5) www.un.org
(6) www.treehugger.com
Image source: flic.kr
Article originally published on RawFoodWorld.com republished with permission
