| Vertical Farming |
 Vertical farming is a conceptual form of agriculture done in urban high-rises. In these high-rises (variously called “farmscrapers,") food such as fruit, vegetables, fish, and livestock can be raised by using greenhouse growing methods and recycled resources year-round, allowing cities of the future to become self-sufficient. The potential advantages of vertical farming are many. First, there would be no weather related crop failures. Second, continuous production of food (i.e., no seasons) would be the norm. Vertical farming could greatly reduce or even prevent further deforestation, desertification, and other consequences of encroachment for agricultural land use if employed on large scale. By producing food indoors within population centers, fossil fuel use would be greatly reduced (no plowing, planting, harvesting by farm machinery), and reduction of food miles means less pollution is generated transporting produce from the vertical farm to the market. The controlled environment of a multi-story greenhouse will obviate the need for pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Employing a combination of hydroponic, aeroponic, and other related growing strategies will allow most crops to be produced in large quantities indoors. As currently envisioned, the vertical farm would also be designed to make use of energy generated from wind power, solar power, and incineration of raw sewage and the inedible portion of harvested crops. Instead of producing agricultural runoff (currently the world’s most serious source of pollution), the vertical farm aspires to become truly self-sustaining. In that regard, the water of evapo-transpiration can also be harvested and re-used in crop production, or exported from the farm as a source of drinking water. Today, over 70% of the liquid fresh water on Earth is used for horizontal soil-based agriculture, and once used it is not usable for anything else due to the common use of agrochemicals and pesticides. Vertical farms will require significantly less water, and as mentioned, will have the option of re-cycling it. |