Dickson Despommier
Source: Flickr
Image: Leapologist
Dr. Dickson Despommier and his students have really opened our eyes. An ecologist, microbiologist and Professor of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University, it now seems 73-year old Despommier is just getting started.
In 1999, Despommier developed his concept of vertical farming with a group of frustrated graduate students from a medical ecology class. They'd grown tired of studying parasitism and environmental disruption and wanted to work on something positive and uplifting for a change. What they came up with next was absolutely brilliant.
In 1999, Despommier developed his concept of vertical farming with a group of frustrated graduate students from a medical ecology class. They'd grown tired of studying parasitism and environmental disruption and wanted to work on something positive and uplifting for a change. What they came up with next was absolutely brilliant.
Source: Google Images
The human population is projected to increase by about 3 billion by the year 2050. Approximately 80% of us will reside in urban areas. With over 80% of farmable land currently in use and another 15% deemed unfit for use due to mismanagement, Despommier predicts an impending disaster. How will we feed all those people?
Two words: vertical farming. It's already happening. Meaning, we're already producing plant life within a high rise greenhouse or on vertically inclined surfaces, allowing the most precise climate control and efficient recycling of soil, water and seeds available.
Two words: vertical farming. It's already happening. Meaning, we're already producing plant life within a high rise greenhouse or on vertically inclined surfaces, allowing the most precise climate control and efficient recycling of soil, water and seeds available.
Shanghai Sustainable Masterplan
Source: Flickr
Image: Except Integrated Sustainability
The above image illustrates Shanghai's ambitious Sustainable Urban Masterplan for a central marketplace surrounded by four vertical farms, or multi-program agricultural towers. Sustainable energy, fresh water and food could be produced for 50,000 people. The lower floors in the center of each structure would serve as community gardens where residents would be free to grow their own plants.
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Shanghai Sustainable Masterplan
Source: Flickr
Image: Except Integrated Sustainability
Okay, so we don't have a high-rise farm quite yet, but it's just around the corner. In the meantime, at least one company is making the most of vertically inclined surfaces.
In 2009, Valcent's El Paso, Texas lab was already growing plants first on rotating vertical panels, then vertical trays, exposing them to the perfect amount of light, moisture and nutrients. Glen Kertz, then CEO of Valcent, claimed this optimization allowed him to grow up to 15 times as much lettuce per acre as a traditional farm and with only 5% of the water. Valcent now produces 20 times as much per acre as a traditional farm and still uses just 8% of the water.
Thanks to this technology we can greatly decrease our impact on climate change. Goodbye, chemical-laden fertilizers, carbon-emitting transportation and deforestation. Hello, nutritionally superior and healthier food for people and animals.
Source: Flickr
Image: Canadian Veggie
Valcent President, CEO and Managing Director, Chris Bradford has stated, "We are the only company in the world, at the moment, that has a commercially viable, closed-loop conveyor, vegetable growing system. The number of inquiries we've had from all over the world has been quite phenomenal and indicates there is a lot of recognition out there for the type of technology we offer."
This division of Valcent is now known as Verticrop. Visit www.verticrop.com. Today they grow over 50 varieties of leafy green vegetables with a greater nutritional value and a longer shelf life.
Meanwhile, Dr. Dickson Despommier has gone so far as to design a 30-story vertical farm encompassing an entire city block. This design features transparent walls and would produce enough food for 50,000 people annually. According to Despommier's calculations, 160 of these buildings could feed all of New York. However, the cost would be in the hundreds of millions, making cost the main drawback. But where there's a will, there's a way. In my humble opinion, vertical farming is here to stay.
For more on vertical farming, check out Dr. Despommier's book, The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century.
Source: Google Images
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