![]() At present, 38% of earth’s non-frozen land is used for growing food. Globally, 70% of water usage goes towards agricultural production, largely due to unsustainable irrigation practices. With most crop production already pushed to its ceiling both genetically and chemically (a significant increase in fertilizer or pesticide use will not sufficiently increase yields), intensification and the expansion of land used for food production have been seen as the only viable options to meet these growing food demands. The amount of resources used by traditional agriculture is astronomical. If we were to project linear growth in yield from our agricultural output from the past five decades, we would be nowhere near achieving this kind of growth by 2050. Our current agricultural system is up to a huge task: by 2050, we will need to increase food production by about 70% in order to meet the caloric needs of a global population of 9.8 billion people-68% of whom are projected to live in urban areas. What’s the problem? Why hydroponic farming? Rationale for Vertical Farms by Dickson Despommier create an environment that encourages sustainable urban life, promoting a state of good health for all those who choose to live in cities.” provide a major new role for agrochemical industries (i.e., designing and producing safe, chemically-defined diets for a wide variety of commercially viable plant species 10. eliminate the need for large-scale use of pesticides and herbicides 9. ![]() allow year-round food production without loss of yields due to climate change or weather-related events 8. ![]() break the transmission cycle of agents of disease associated with a fecally-contaminated environment 7. take advantage of abandoned and unused urban spaces 6. remediate black water creating a much needed new strategy for the conservation of drinking water 5. safely and efficiently use the organic portion of human and agricultural waste to produce energy through methane generation, and at the same time significantly reduce populations of vermin (e.g., rats, cockroaches) 4. allow large tracts of land to revert to the natural landscape restoring ecosystem functions and services 3. supply enough food in a sustainable fashion to comfortably feed all of humankind for the foreseeable future 2. “Vertical farming practiced on a large scale in urban centers has great potential to: 1. ![]()
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