Vertical Farming
URL = http://www.verticalfarm.com/
Description
From the Appropedia:
"Vertical farming is a theory that, by cultivating agricultural products in skyscrapers, claims to solve the food crisis and offer a green solution to farming. Based on the work of Dickson Despommier, vertical farms are skyscrapers in urban environments based on some of the principles of greenhouses, built up of floors of crops grown hydroponically year round. (Hydroponics: from the Greek words hydro, water and ponos, labor) is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. In theory, vertical farming would reduce the use of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides by keeping the crops in a controlled environment, and avoids the problems of agricultural run-off by keeping all agricultural activities confined to the vertical farming system. [1] In other words, a vertical farm would double as a water-treatment and waste-recycling facility. Vertical farming advocates also believe that by converting to three dimensional agriculture, the ecosystems that have been consumed by farmland could be returned to their previous state. The projected design could rise over 18 stories and feed 50,000 people from a city block. Despommier’s vision was to rid the world of agriculturally transmitted diseases, but in turn seeks to ambitiously solve the world food crisis." (http://www.appropedia.org/Vertical_farming)
Key Book to Read
More Information
- http://www.eoearth.org/article/Vertical_farming
- http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-rise-of-vertical-farms
- http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/tcaine/18980/new-wave-agriculture-vertical-farms-101
- http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090630-farm-towers-locally-grown_2.html