The future of farming? 🌾

Here at the Daily Concept, we’re very interested in agriculture and food.

In previous issues, we have discussed food deserts (places where there is no fresh or healthy food available), and desertification (the process by which arable land is turned into desert).

We have also talked about farmers’ protests in Europe and the idea of food sovereignty.

Today’s newsletter covers vertical farming, a hyper-efficient and futuristic approach to agriculture designed to make food production more sustainable & productive.

What is vertical farming?

Vertical farming refers to the practice of growing crops above or below the ground.

Vertical farming methods differ from traditional farming methods that cultivate crops over horizontal space.

Traditional growing methods plant crops in soil on open fields and rely on sunlight to provide energy for growth.

Vertical farming usually takes place indoors and employs a variety of artificial growing systems to cultivate plants. Some of these systems, such as hydroponics and aquaponics, are completely soilless.

Hydroponics uses nutrient-rich mineral solutions to grow plants.

Aquaponic techniques grow plants in aquatic environments containing underwater life, using the waste products of aquatic organisms, such fish or algae, to provide crops with the nutrients they need. (see below)

Vertical farms allow for crops to be grown in tightly controlled and closely monitored conditions.

This enables farmers to avoid problems such as pests and droughts and thereby boost yields.

Indoor vertical farming company Plenty claims:

But why is this so important? Is there a core problem that vertical farming is meant to solve?

The United States and other advanced economies have extremely complex and globalized food systems that emerged after WWII.

These systems are designed to access the widest possible markets by moving large quantities of edible substances as far and as efficiently as possible. 

Global food production & transportation networks replaced local food production during the 20th century - largely because of new technological developments that made food transportation more economical.

According to a 2010 USDA report:

“With improved transportation, perishable items such as meats, eggs, fruits, and vegetables, as well as some perishable processed products like orange juice, could be shipped across the globe at affordable prices.”

Modern food systems have given more people more access to affordable calories than at any other time in history. 

However, experts like urban revitalization strategist, Majora Carter argue that these agricultural systems can take an astonishing toll on both the environment and consumers.

For example, chemical pesticides and fertilizers can have an incredibly destructive effect on the environment.

• Modern intensive farming techniques rely on chemical fertilizers that leave large tracts of soil unable to support plant-life without the constant use of ever more fertilizer.

• Pesticides and herbicides used in conventional agriculture wash into water systems.

When these chemicals flow through the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico, they can create massive “dead zones” where aquatic life can’t survive.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA has reported a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico that “was about the size of Delaware” during the summer of 2018.

Additionally, the process of shipping food over large distances relies on internal combustion engines that pump carbon into the atmosphere. This contributes to climate change and harms human and animal health.

A study funded by the European Union estimates that food transportation generates about twice as much greenhouse gases (GHG) as the amount generated by producing the food.

According to an EU study, 30% of the world’s GHG emissions are linked to the global food system

So how can vertical farming help with all this?

One of the chief advantages of vertical farming is that it requires less space. This allows the technology to solve several problems at once.\

1. Vertical farming can allow humanity to reduce the amount of land dedicated to agriculture, protecting existing wild land from agricultural development.

This is important because the the global availability of arable land per person has been decreasing in recent decades.

2. It has the potential to bring humans closer to the source of their food by growing it in urban environments, reducing the need for long-range food transportation networks that contribute to climate change.

3. Vertical farms could also make crop production more water and nutrient-efficient.

This is because they often rely on hydroponic and aeroponic systems that circulate water or water vapor around plants’ roots.

These systems tend to be more efficiency because “the roots are able to get those nutrients and water in a lot quicker,” according to Laura Vickers, a plant biologist and head of the Urban Farming Group at Harper Adams University in the UK.

Other advantages of vertical farming include:

• Year-round crop production

• Lower labor costs

• No soil degeneration

P.S. Today’s newsletter was written by Dr. Gregory Bridgman, the newest member of the Daily Concept editorial team.

ART OF THE DAY

American Gothic by Grant Wood. 1930.