Concept

• Although growing plants indoors has been done for a long time, vertical hydroponic farming is new. Hydroponic farming does not require the use of soil to grow plants. Traditional greenhouses have done this, but not on a wide production scale. Vertical farming also promises plant production within city centers, providing a sustainable crop without the need for shipping.
  
  

Why

• It is theorized that with world population growing, with a possible 9 billion people by 2050, and with an ever-increasing amount of fertile land being used to raise cattle and other edible livestock, there we may run out of soil suitable for plant production in the near future.
  
  

Growing Techniques

• The plants are grown on vertical panels that rotate under lights. The rotation of these panels ensures the plants are receiving the right amount of sunlight needed to grow. Traditional growing methods in soil require large amounts of space, usually horizontal if not in a greenhouse. Vertical farming cuts down on the space required to grow large amounts of crops. A 30-story building, taking up one city block, according to Despommier, would produce enough food to feed 50,000 people.
  
  

Benefits

• Vertical farming would provide a environmentally responsible solution to deforestation, chemical pollution, and carbon pollution from the transportation of vegetables. Since the plants are grown indoors, there is little chance of insect infestation, and no need to clear land for crops. Since the plants are growing in the building you live, or down the block, there is no need to transport the plants. Due to the plants being grown indoors, there is very little chance of weather-related crop failure. In addition, runoff water from the nutrient baths will not be released back into the environment; instead, it will be recycled within the vertical farm.
  
  

Cons

• Although vertical farming sounds good in theory, the main drawback is that the costs of building the large structures needed, and of production, would exceed those of more traditional crops.
  
  

Other Benefits

• Vertical farming can teach us the skills required to colonize other planets that do not have fertile soil nor an atmosphere suitable for crops. Vertical hydroponic planting could also make growing crops in tropical and subtropical locations easier. A further benefit is the ability to grow plants not native to an area, cutting down on carbon emissions from transportation.