I'm very conflicted regarding vertical farming. As you describe, the promise is real and the technology could be a serious step forward in alleviating food insecurity. Also, vertical farming can be done in food deserts such as inner-city neighborhoods which might lack access to green vegetables otherwise.
On the other hand, vertical farming is resource-intensive; you mentioned energy costs, but there's quite a lot of hardware involved as well. What I would like to see is a return to normalcy of the suburban vegetable garden - think of all the space used / wasted in front yards, highway shoulders, and office parks devoted to nothing but grass. Why are these places not used to grow vegetable crops? If such were done, the vegetables would be close to urban markets, yet the operations would not use the enormous amounts of electricity you describe. Perhaps both approaches could be used.
I'm also excited about research into GMO crops which would thrive in adverse environments - recently I heard of a plant that was being tested for crop production in very saline soils (can't remember where I heard about it though!) Plenty to watch in this space.
You're right, the hardware needed to deploy these large-scale operations will be expensive too. Like you said, I think there are use cases where it makes a lot of sense because it can be done in spaces where we couldn't grow food usually.
Personally, I would love to see more suburban gardens. When I was younger, we used to have one in our house and it was great to just go outside and grab all the vegetables you needed. But I do remember it taking a lot of effort to maintain, so I'm skeptical about how many people would do it if given the choice. But I think it's a great opportunity for someone to design consumer-focused products that make it easy for people to set up these gardens or mini vertical farms in their yards. I'll try to look into any companies doing this sort of work and write about them!
There is a way to save on electricity with the help of mirrors. I saw an enormous tomato plant grown underground with no lighting except for a series of mirrors bringing in daylight. Thanks for the interesting article.
These sound like promising alternatives for some crops. Perhaps solar power could help with some of the energy needs. I like William’s idea of suburban gardens. Even urban dwellers could grow some food in empty lots. Or even in pots.
Love the idea of solar power (or other renewables) in this type of scenario. It would be very counter-productive for these farms to use fossil fuel-based electricity as it would affect the carbon emission saving from moving closer to the city.
Thank you Lorraine! The best donation you can make is just sharing this with your students and inviting them to subscribe to the newsletter. I publish stories like these every Friday! They can subscribe at: https://year2049.substack.com/
I just love talking about these innovations and finding other curious minds who want to learn with me.
I'm very conflicted regarding vertical farming. As you describe, the promise is real and the technology could be a serious step forward in alleviating food insecurity. Also, vertical farming can be done in food deserts such as inner-city neighborhoods which might lack access to green vegetables otherwise.
On the other hand, vertical farming is resource-intensive; you mentioned energy costs, but there's quite a lot of hardware involved as well. What I would like to see is a return to normalcy of the suburban vegetable garden - think of all the space used / wasted in front yards, highway shoulders, and office parks devoted to nothing but grass. Why are these places not used to grow vegetable crops? If such were done, the vegetables would be close to urban markets, yet the operations would not use the enormous amounts of electricity you describe. Perhaps both approaches could be used.
I'm also excited about research into GMO crops which would thrive in adverse environments - recently I heard of a plant that was being tested for crop production in very saline soils (can't remember where I heard about it though!) Plenty to watch in this space.
You're right, the hardware needed to deploy these large-scale operations will be expensive too. Like you said, I think there are use cases where it makes a lot of sense because it can be done in spaces where we couldn't grow food usually.
Personally, I would love to see more suburban gardens. When I was younger, we used to have one in our house and it was great to just go outside and grab all the vegetables you needed. But I do remember it taking a lot of effort to maintain, so I'm skeptical about how many people would do it if given the choice. But I think it's a great opportunity for someone to design consumer-focused products that make it easy for people to set up these gardens or mini vertical farms in their yards. I'll try to look into any companies doing this sort of work and write about them!
Thanks for the comment Will!
There is a way to save on electricity with the help of mirrors. I saw an enormous tomato plant grown underground with no lighting except for a series of mirrors bringing in daylight. Thanks for the interesting article.
I haven't heard of that but it's great to know other approaches are being explored. Thanks for sharing 🙌
Excellent article and good to know that there is some development going on in relation to both output and input
Thanks Clive!
Fantastic article. We have the solutions to the world's problems - we just need a broader appetite (pardon the pun) to bring them into being.
Thanks Cali!
These sound like promising alternatives for some crops. Perhaps solar power could help with some of the energy needs. I like William’s idea of suburban gardens. Even urban dwellers could grow some food in empty lots. Or even in pots.
Love the idea of solar power (or other renewables) in this type of scenario. It would be very counter-productive for these farms to use fossil fuel-based electricity as it would affect the carbon emission saving from moving closer to the city.
Thank you Lorraine! The best donation you can make is just sharing this with your students and inviting them to subscribe to the newsletter. I publish stories like these every Friday! They can subscribe at: https://year2049.substack.com/
I just love talking about these innovations and finding other curious minds who want to learn with me.