Soil-based agriculture is so passé. Nothing short of an agricultural revolution is underway, spurred on by visionary Dr. Dickson Despommier of Columbia University. His plan is to build 30-story greenhouses in cities around the world, which will allow us to produce more food, for less money, in a healthier way, while freeing up arable land for nature. Listen up environmentalists! If you’re serious about relieving mother earth of her burdens as food producer, you can forget about unsustainable and inefficient organic farming (which requires far more space than non-organic). You need to end the hypocrisy and start proposing vertical farming, the viable solution to feeding all the world’s people – not just those who can shop at Whole Foods. By growing crops without the use of soil – hydroponically – “fields” can be stacked on top of each other in urban areas, to grow fruits, vegetables, grains, you name it. The vertical farms work as a closed circuit, so all the water and nutrients are recycled, and only the produce actually leaves the building. In his book, The Vertical Farm , Dr. Dickson Despommier explains the considerable advantages vertical farming holds over traditional farming (organic or otherwise)...
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 02:00:19 +0000