Vertical Farming

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From jetpacks to teleportation and even cloning, humans have many ideas for the future. One fairly new idea is vertical farming. Vertical farming is a very promising idea, which may take off in the near future; however, the benefits currently do not outweigh the disadvantages.

Dickson D. Despommier is a microbiologist, ecologist, and Professor of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University. In Despommier’s book, The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century, vertical farming is the idea of farming goods such as vegetables, fruits, and even some animals in a controlled environment (3). In other words, vertical farming is essentially the act of farming vertically inside of a tall building. Although some may laugh at the idea of farming indoors, it is not an entirely new concept. Despommier states “crops like strawberry, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, herbs, and a wide variety of spices have made their way to world supermarkets in ever-increasing amounts over the last fifteen years.” (Despommier, 4). However, Despommier’s idea of vertical farming highly contrasts the greenhouses that currently exist. Despommier plans to have buildings at least 30 stories high that can produce enough food to comfortably feed 50,000 people (Despommier, Vertical Farming).

So why should we consider vertical farming? Three main reasons that Despommier lists are climate change, very few farmland available, and cheaper costs. Despommier believes that vertical farming can drastically help with climate change because once vertical farms are established, there will be no need for traditional farms which will allow them to convert back to forests and reduce the carbon dioxide in the air (Chamberlain). The rapidly growing po...

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...r, Dickso. Vertical Farming. Environmental Information Coalition, 8 Apr. 2008. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. .

Roach, John. High-Rise Farms: The Future of Food?. N.p., 30 June 2009. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. .

Cox, Stan, and David V. Tassel. Why Planting Farms in Skyscrapers Won't Solve Our Food Problems. N.p., 3 May 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. .

Countryfarm Lifestyles. Vertical Farming: What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of a Vertical Farm? . N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. .

Kuang, Cliff. Farming in the Sky. N.p., 4 Sept. 2008. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. .

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