After the centuries-in-the-making strain of conventional agriculture on our climate, environment, communities, and food security, advances in vertical farming promise a new direction in food production.
You may have heard the term "vertical farming" in recent years. In simple terms, vertical farming is the growing of edible produce in stacked rows within controlled environments resembling multi-story buildings. While still relatively new, vertical farming is a method of food production becoming increasingly important.
Where did this idea originate from & why is it important?
The term "vertical farming" was first coined by American geologist Gilbert E. Bailey in 1915. Similar terms include "indoor farming," "urban agriculture," and "controlled-environment agriculture." In recent years, though, the time has gained particular attention for its promise to solve many of the issues associated with conventional farming, farming techniques that are traditionally, and often controversially, affiliated with using technology, pesticides, chemicals, intense water usage, fossil fuels, and soil degradation practices. With the global population expected to exceed 9.8 billion by 2050 and 68% of humanity expected to reside in cities, sustainable and land-efficient food systems are becoming increasingly imperative. Furthermore, by 2050, the planet's arable, or farm compatible, land is estimated to be one-half of what it was in the 1970s. Such degradation will strain our resources, but with the 60% more food required to feed this population in 2050, the question becomes how we can provide our entire population in a sustainable, regenerative, and efficient? The world needs new and innovative approaches to food production, and vertical farming is one of them.
How does Vertical Farming work?
Vertical farming combines techniques from hydroponics, Aeroponics, and aquaponics. Hydroponics is a technique where plants are grown in a water and nutrient-based solution without soil. These systems can be used to grow plants and vegetables year-round. In Aeroponics, plants are grown chiefly with air, mist, and no soil. Aeroponics uses 90% less water than the hydroponic system, and plants grow far faster. Aquaponics utilizes wastewater created by raising aquatic animals, like fish, crayfish, or snails, in tanks to feed the hydroponic plants with rich nutrients, like ammonia, in a growth tray.
In vertical farming - a combination of all three growing methods - plants are grown in vertically stacked units (much like shelves or multi-story buildings). The plants are often grown in water or alternative materials like polyurethane sponges, biodegradable peat moss, coconut husk byproducts, or organic clay pellets containing the nutrients needed for plant growth. Vertical farms fit under the umbrella of "indoor farming" or "controlled-environment agriculture." These terms mean that plants are grown in highly controlled environments, where temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, nutrient concentrations, and lighting are managed. Still, virtually no soil is needed.
Lighting is the most crucial aspect of vertical farming. All plants need sunlight to grow, but vertical farms use artificial grow lights, which are artificial light sources, to stimulate plant growth. The three common types of grow lights for indoor farming are Fluorescent Grow Lights, HPS Grow Lights (High-Pressure Sodium) lights, and LED Grow lights, or Light Emitting Diode technology, which emits low thermal radiation or heat. LED Grow Lights often have a purple spectrum in urban farms because while natural sunlight contains various color spectrums, plants only need this specific spectrum to grow. Thus, purple LEDs are used to maximize efficiency and bypass unneeded color spectrums. As can be expected, LEDs are the most-used system and the most energy-efficient of the three, capable of reducing energy usage by 70%. Now that we have these new LEDs, vertical farming is now feasible.
What are the benefits of Vertical Farming?
Vertical farming facilities have significantly increased the efficiency of resource use since they are climate-controlled. They precisely regulate the lighting, humidity, temperature, and water intake and are resource-efficient. According to the International Journal for Research, vertical farming reduces water intake by up to 95% compared to conventional agriculture, which uses 70% of global freshwater, while significantly increasing crop yields anywhere from 45-75%. Vertical farms virtually resolve pests, weather, and seasonal variability where harmful pesticide use is cut by at least 60%. These staggering figures show promise in vertical farming technology, mainly because of resource efficiency.
On average, produce travels 1500km or 932 miles from farm to customer, producing significant carbon emissions contributing to climate change. It's good; therefore, that farming facilities can be established nearly anywhere, no matter the region's external climate, meaning that less transportation is required. Vertical farms are being constructed in decommissioned warehouses, shipping containers, factories, and urban infrastructure. Such flexibility will prove invaluable, especially in cities, where substantial food production is unfeasible mainly due to space and land constraints.
As the industry matures, it will become easier to serve the nearly 23.5 million Americans living in food deserts - areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food. Thus, it will be possible to deliver good quality and highly healthy produce to more members of society, regardless of economic status. We also can expect vertical farming technologies to increasingly impact communities directly - due to such proximity- and provide jobs for the surrounding communities. Thus, not only does vertical farming benefit our environment, but it also benefits the societal economy and our health.
Where is vertical farming now?
In urban spaces, like New York City, where is there room for massive food farms or factories? One good example of vertical farming is Square Roots in Brooklyn, New York. Square Roots is an indoor urban farming company that produces fresh produce for local grocery stores & communities within 5 miles of the farm. Square Root's innovative and space-conserving solution was to build farms within refurbished shipping containers. Additionally, Square Roots has a Next-Gen Farmer Training Program with the goal of equipping young farmers with the knowledge and skills to scale these indoor farming systems in their communities. With the high number of empty parking spaces in the U.S., ranging from 100 million to 2 billion, one can imagine many of these new lots being smartly converted to efficient and self-sustaining farming units, similar to Square Roots.
Limitations of vertical farming
As with any solution, there are setbacks to vertical farming. Because vertical farms require such a technologically controlled and refined environment, this process is costly - in both installation and maintenance costs. Furthermore, resources available in nature, such as rainwater, sunlight, and soil, must be brought inside the enclosed facility, which is even more expensive. Currently, the LEDs needed in vertical farms have two times the upfront cost compared with other lighting technologies, despite being a far-better investment in the long term. Also, LED technology in indoor farming has been around for less than ten years and is less known. Another point of criticism is that vertical farming requires extensive energy. In particular, a significant amount of energy is tied to fossil fuels, which is a driving factor of climate change; fossil fuels currently make up roughly 80% of U.S. energy consumption. Because of our current energy mix-up, energy-intensive vertical farming could be counterproductive.
Although the high costs and high energy demands of vertical farming are significant challenges, if the developments and cost-effectiveness of LED lighting continue to improve over time and as the world transitions to alternative renewable sources of energy - hence the ambitious U.S.target to run on 100% renewable energy by 2035 - vertical farms can, too, increasingly be powered by renewables. Thus vertical farms may alleviate a significant challenge and become a more widely accepted alternative.
While vertical farming certainly has its setbacks, and it's not the one-size-fits-all solution, it is a compelling and increasingly encouraging solution to the issues facing our food system - from resource management to population increase and climate change impact. With a myriad of innovative solutions - we can craft a more sustainable and prosperous food system!
References
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