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November 29, 2018 Meghan Horvath By Meghan Horvath My Articles

Vertical Farming | What’s the Deal Anyway?

The word farming evokes a range of sentiments. For me, I see images of the sun shining on green, open fields with animals grazing about. Can the same be said when you hear vertical farming?

The origins of vertical farming



What is vertical farming?

Vertical farming often falls in line with ‘indoor farming’, ‘urban agriculture’ and ‘controlled-environment agriculture’ (which also encompasses greenhouse cultivation), but the concept remains unique. With vertical farming, the growing takes place where factors such as temperature, nutrients, lighting, irrigation, and air circulation are constantly monitored and adjusted. Here's a peak at the inside of a vertical farm in the Netherlands:


Is vertical farming more sustainable?


Vertical farming’s reduced use of water and land, and decreased waste and CO2 emissions could already be helpful in mitigating climate change were it to become more widely explored. The controlled and contained nature of the technology could reduce agricultural runoff as well, which in traditional farming, is any water that is carrying away by-products from a farm and may contain fertilizers and other contaminants.5


Is there a need for change in agriculture?


There are many critics of vertical farming who argue against the large amount of energy needed to produce large crops, whereas the sun is free. This would make it difficult for vertical farming to replace traditional agricultural methods entirely.4 Therefore at the moment, the best way to think of vertical farming is probably as a technology that complements traditional farming techniques.

Feeding urban communities

Given that vertical farming technology can work anywhere, parts of the food system would be less dependent on transport from rural areas to urban centres, thereby decreasing some of our fuel emissions.4 Food waste by spoilage could also be reduced considering there would be little time spent between when crops would be harvested and sold to us, the consumers.4 




What do you think of vertical farming? Let us know in the comments!


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  1. Nath, P (2014). The Basics of Human Civilization, Food, Agriculture and Humanity. Accessed on 29th November, 2018.
  2. Association for Vertical Farming, Glossary for Vertical Farming. Accessed on 29th November, 2018.
  3. Environmental impacts of farming. WWF. Accessed on 29th November, 2018.
  4. Cox, S.,Van Tassel, D. (2010). “Why Planting Farms in Skyscrapers Won't Solve Our Food Problems”. Accessed on 29th November, 2018.
  5. Vertical Farm RSS. The Vertical Essay. Accessed on 29th November, 2018.
  6. Baraniuk, Chris. BBC. April 6, 2017. How vertical farming reinvents agriculture. Accessed on 29th November, 2018.