Here comes the vertical farms
By Jet Hermida on Jul 24, 2009 in Agriculture and Globalization, Climate Change, Farm Technology
FarmFriday found this interesting technology while browsing Celsias. So we followed the links and then ultimately came to Cleantech where they’re promoting this technology.
High oil prices, the diversion of 30 percent of the U.S. corn crop for ethanol, and strong demand from China and India are causing food shortages in vulnerable countries around the world. Some interesting ideas to address the problem are coming from universities, where faculty and students are often encouraged to think outside the box.
Dickson Despommier, a professor of environmental health science at America’s Columbia University, gave birth to the idea of vertical farms in his medical ecology class which examines the health consequences of a damaged environment. The graduate school class attracts students from many disciplines such as medicine, law, architecture and nutrition. Over the past three years, Despommier has focused on the effects of agriculture on the environment.
He gave his class a project: pretend you’re a community of 50,000 people and you have no other food source other than a vertical farm — how big a building would you need, and what would you grow?
The conclusion: growing food in a 30-story building — one square New York City block — could supply a balanced diet for 50,000 people. One building could supply the same amount of food as 588 acres of land. One hundred and ten buildings could feed New York City.
Read more about the vertical farms here….
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