As time passes, our world faces the growing issue of the increasing population of our globe. By 2050, our world is projected to have 3 billion more people than we do now, which means we will need an estimated 109 hectares of land to grow enough food to feed our world if we continue our traditional farming practices. In addition, urban centers will be much more populous than they are now. Dr. Dickson Despommier suggests vertical farming as an alternative to our traditional practices and a solution to these problems.
Vertical farms are skyscrapers with levels of indoor farms inside. Some benefits to this method are that crops will be protected from adverse weather, food transportation costs will be nearly eliminated because the vertical farms will be in urban areas, and most importantly, we will be saving land space horizontally.
However, with advantages also come drawbacks. Vertical farming may not be a cost-effective method of producing food for our world. The cost to build these skyscrapers and maintain a safe agricultural environment inside of them will be extremely high, and it is difficult to know if the payoff will be worth the expenses. The cost to heat the skyscrapers and have adequate means to transport crops, water, and light throughout the structures will be extremely high as well, and the vertical farms will require large amounts of energy for lighting. In addition, the amount of pollution produced will be larger than that of natural farms. Vertical farming will hurt the jobs of those who aid in transportation of food. Lastly, there will be a smaller variety of foods because not all plants and vegetables can thrive in such a limited and controlled environment.
Like many other radical ideas, it is difficult to predict exactly how beneficial or harmful this process could be on our environment, our pocketbooks, and our society in general as we continue to progress through the 21st century. Perhaps time will tell.
http://www.verticalfarm.com
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