The Vertical Farm

http://www.verticalfarm.com
By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth's population will reside in urban centers. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about 3 billion people during the interim. An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% more land than is represented by the country of Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming practices continue as they are practiced today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use (sources: FAO and NASA). Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices. What can be done to avoid this impending disaster?

Please visit the following blogs that have supported this video:
http://www.cityfarmer.info/2010/10/14/dickson-despommier-speaks-about-the-ver...
http://www.theenvironmentalblog.org/2010/10/vertical-farm-concept.html
http://healthmania.blog.com/2010/10/16/the-vertical-farm/
http://healthtips4u.blog.com/2010/10/15/vertical-farming/
http://leaningwithintent.com/vertical-farm
http://business4u.blog.com/2010/10/15/vertical-farming/
http://foxridgequarterhorse.com/general/best-solution-about-farming-methods-i...
http://www.kidsquestworld.org/2010/10/the-vertical-farm/
http://www.pekinghunanpark.com/2010/10/environmental-video-book-trailer/
http://freehealthinsuranceinformation.com/2010/10/16/vertcal-farming.aspx
http://nmgcx.com/farms
http://www.bradleyinfotainment.com/2010/10/the-vertical-farm/
http://www.phil-walker.net/2010/10/the-vertical-farm/
http://www.prealasrecife.com/impending-disaster
http://www.alysonstonercentral.com/2010/10/the-vertical-farm/

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• the
• vertical
• farm
• technology
• food
• population
• energy
• farming
• organic
• sustainable
• economy
• environment

[Alexfantastico26]

I can't wait till all our foods come from these and logging of forests to make farmland finally stops.

[NextStarfish]

Very nice video - used it to illustrate a blog post about Vertical Farming on Nextstarfish

[texasriverfarmer1]

@krislyttle They're already doing Confined Animal Feeding Operations.....Henry Ford never meant to take his factory model and apply it to farming/food/animals

[yohanbab]

its a good idea but anything but trees who need the wind to strengten them.

[leguanfarmer]

see google-street view : gooDOTgl/DdvN7

[leguanfarmer]

Why did they put a photo of this shopping centre in Cologne, Germany at 1:59? what does this have to do with vertical farming?

[SupremeCommander360]

@SBFloppie

And who is to say that you couldn't use a preexisting building for such a structure? Of course it would require many renovations but it would most likely still cost less than making one from scratch. Retrofitting a closed mechanized harvesting system to harvest crops that are too labor intensive could solve labor problems inside of one of these buildings, at least it still not like diesel powered farming equipment used on every modern farm today. Hydroponics = no plowing/spraying

[SupremeCommander360]

@SBFloppie

I disagree, creating a sustainable vertical farm that produces crops year round in a controlled pest-free environment is worth the cost of mining the materials to construct one. Think about it, transportation costs become dramatically reduced now that crops can be grown in a city and do not have to transported long distances, the carbon footprint will be reduced over long term, no oil-based pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides.

[SBFloppie]

@SupremeCommander360 The production of metal that can support skyscraper-sized farms like he is proposing (hint: you'll need steel) has a substantial environmental impact. We're talking strip-mining for the metals, chemical treatments, foundries, and the logistics to ship the material to the farm site. Once something like this is constructed it might be sustainable, but the cost of constructing it isn't. And like I said, it's MUCH more labor-intensive. You can't mass harvest vertical farms.

[SupremeCommander360]

@SBFloppie

What tech? it's not exactly that hard to stack greenhouses onto of each other. No need for any serious infrastructure, just use light weight materials like wood/aluminum and lots of glass. The structure doesn't necessarily have to be that tall, as long as it's contained it will be able to produce crops at a higher efficiency than traditional farming, with the benefit of no runoff and less land being used.