Farms that Reach the Sky
Urmi Sen
FARMS THAT REACH THE SKY
Jasmine Greene
If people can live in high rises, why can't plants. Well, with the
introduction of vertical farming, now they can! The concept was
developed in 1999 by Dickson Despommier and several of his graduate
students to help solve food shortages. Today, there is one
commercially viable vertical farm located in Paignton Zoo in the UK.
However there are many advantages and disadvantages to a vertical
farming system.
Advantages
With an ever increasing population, the problem of food shortage is
becoming a very real problem. By 2050 the population is expected to
grow by 3 billion. To feed all of those extra people will take more
land and water than we currently have. Enter vertical farming. Unlike
traditional farms, vertical farms can grow crops year round. This
leads to greater food production, with some crop productions, such as
the ones at the Paignton Zoo, increasing twenty fold [Source:
Valcent]. Not only will food production increase, but land usage will
decrease. One floor in a vertical farm is equivalent to four to six
outdoor acres [Source: The Vertical Farm Project]. To put this into
perspective, Despommier stated that a 30 story building that is one
New York City block large can feed 50,000 people. 160 of the buildings
could potentially feed all of Manhattan [Source: Time Magazine]. With
food production within the cities themselves, there would be much less
pollution created by transporting food from around the country to
certain distributors. Not only that, but there's the potential for
many traditional farms to revert to vertical farming. This could lead
to farmlands reverting back to nature and restoring ecosystem
functions and services [Source: The Vertical Farm Project].
But it's not only about the space that vertical farming saves, it's
also about decreasing our environmental impact. Traditional farming
often times pollutes water with fertilizers and pesticides runoff.
Fortunately, vertical farming recycles water. The system takes
blackwater (waste) and greywater to create potable water through the
process of evapotranspiration. There's even a plan for a vertical farm
in Dubai to convert saltwater to freshwater [Source: Treehugger].
Vertical farms can also curb the use of pesticides since the plants
are grown indoors. This would decrease the amount of toxins entering
the soil and water as well as our bodies. Just the presence of
vertical farms in cities could greatly improve air quality (plants
produce oxygen via photosynthesis). When faced with all the positive
aspects of vertical farming, it's hard to understand why there aren't
more in the world.
Disadvantages
While the idea is revolutionary, are vertical farms actually feasible?
One of the major factors that keep many countries from taking the
plunge is the cost. Cost of land in major cities is very high and
building a skyscraper in cities is even more expensive. Just building
the structure itself would cost around $84 million [Source: CNN]. On
top of that, the cost of soil, fertilizer, transportation, employee
benefits and wages all bring down the cost-effectiveness of the
buildings. And unless the building itself runs off of some kind of
renewable energy, the added cost of heating, powering and lighting the
building may negate any environmental benefits. Even the actually
operating the farm may prove difficult. Currently there are no farmers
that can handle such a complex system, and it will take some time to
find and train these people.
Our current technology as well as high costs has kept many countries
from experiementing with these vertical farms. While this process may
never replace traditional farming, it may spark the creation of multi-
level indoor farms near cities.
Read more: environment & wildlife, vertica farm, skyscraper farm,
farms in cities