TV Schedule

Vertical Farming


  3. sforte
  4. related topics
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 10<sup>9</sup> 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?
sforte

32 responses // Vertical Farming

  • http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml...
    Dickson Despommier on Colbert Report - Stephen asks him if growing food in vertical towers is an elitist way to farm.
    sforte
  • If you ask me, the $300billion tax monies should go to this instead of agribusiness.
    CarlosIsDown
  • Looks like this is the only option. With golf courses, mansions and other things wasting valuable land that could be used for farming, we're running out of land.
    PoisonTheMonkey
  • Looked like a good idea to me when I saw him explain it on The Colbert Report
    Argon18
  • I had a vision of city kinda like this. Platform ontop of platforms forming layers. On top level parks, fields, orchards and houses. Underneath industries, offices, power plants etc.
    Uelthomas
  • Hydroponics too, that way you can farm underground.
    Dmitri_Molotov
  • Vertical farming is the future.

    By growing crops in this manner, we would grow enough food for everyone, create jobs, and save land from the damage of 'slash and burn' methods of farming that have left the Amazon devastated.
    SpookyFish
  • I've been waiting for this! Soooo cool. SOO needed. Now we just need to be able to grow beef tissue in a lab and we won't have to tear down the rainforests anymore!
    benjaminV
    2 responses to this
  • Don't know if that's good news or not. Maybe we can get help from those space Nazi's to wipe out the majority of the world's population to prevent a food crisis in the future.
    cerealforeal
  • this is what i do on a small scale with my balcony now. it doesn't get rid of my grocery bill but it cuts it down and I know where my veg comes from. it's grown about twelve feet from where it is cooked. I know it's not for everyone, but its a great stress reducer, very calming and I really like having the option. it's a shame that more apartment buildings don't incorporate garden space onto patios.
    spoonieday
    1 response to this
  • cool concept..
    romanista
  • i like the idea, but i would like to see more about the process rather than the cool buildings they got...
    Rjc808
  • Just like the Electric car senario... Cargil or someone with lots of money and now worries will buy up all the plans and destroy them...

    I love this Idea... Vertical!

    Lets get some regulations set to require on for every Metropolitian
    nicsansone
    1 response to this
  • Oh dear, now we're going to overpopulate the sky, too.
    Ola_McGee
  • Its amazing how easily ingenuity springs from desperation.
    ILiveonaClock
  • This is amazing. I can only hope that everyone can see the benefits of what this could bring to the world.
    meganclemens
  • I knew there had to be other people out there thinking of this. This has so much potential beyond agriculture for food. Besides allowing for the production of produce needed to feed a city, these type of facilities can be set up next to the boi-fuels processing plant they could also be feeding. Possibly with non food stuffs like the algae based Bio-fuels grown by Agra Rise in similar High Rise buildings. This not only would cut down on land needed for agriculture while eliminating the need for pesticides to be used on our food but also address worries about climate change that may be plaguing our traditional agricultural areas for years to come. Another use I have envisioned is using some of the sequestered carbon used to help the growth of these gardens and then capturing and releasing the oxygen produced by the plants back into the atmosphere, sort of a terra-forming effort. I think it is also worth while to point out that this type of independence from reliance on foreign resources will take away a lot of the power that colonialists used to manipulate the less powerful. All and all I think it is a marvelous idea. I hope to see one built soon in my city.
    hombre76
  • Isn't this the kind of farming that I saw at Epcot as a kid in the 80's? If so, glad to know the future is finally here.
    shroomfairy
  • I'm ready to give up my job, throw on some overalls, and head to my roof!

    Hell, i could farm in the day, and head to the club at night!
    bakpa79
  • I think people should be growing their own vegetables.
    Oh, what about me?....Well, I don't have a green thumb.
    Neghie
  • very cool! I've been thinking of stuff like this for years, not only for towers on earth but for living in space, too
    superfinet
  • Awesome! End world hunger now!!!
    bubl_415
  • Good. Let's also make sure there's enough fresh water to sustain it. Don't buy bottled water folks.
    notonourwatch
  • Wouldn't the food be affected by urban pollution like car exhaust? Or would these towers be enclosed in glass to keep the filthy metropolitan atmosphere out? Cities are dirty places folks...
    magaikenus
  • I think that there is farmland in Texas where farmers are paid not to plant and that the US systematically burns some amount of unused produce already, but that is just the way I was educated as a young boy. I don't have substantial figures.
    arturogarza
  • Great idea for crowded metropolitan areas.

    BUT PLEASE! Do not make the mistake of thinking we're running out of land... I mean, head out West or into Canada... Russia... Africa... Australia... Forrests all over Europe and South America... HECK! even Antarctica with the warming trend we have now...

    3 billion more people is hardly a threat.
    mrpibb19
  • I don't think the whole issue is that we're running out of land. There is also the issue of how to 'buy locally' -- and vertical farming would certainly help city dwellers with that part of it!!

    Wonderful idea, and it's great to see creative architectural minds cogitating how to make this possible. Imagine living in the city, and waking up to the smell of apple blossoms and tomato vines.
    shelchak
  • My plan is to create my home out of this.
    slamber

Add your response

Login/Registration is required to add a response.