Pros and Cons of..Vertical Farming?🌱 🥬Happy Earth Day!

    Hey guys, Happy *early* Earth Day! Earth Day is coming up, and I wanted to share with you this new farming method which I think is pretty interesting...This post will be a little different from my usual, because I want YOU guys to share..Vertical Farming, yes or no?

   

    One of the biggest concerns on our planet is space. No, not outer space, but ROOM. The world’s population is set to reach 9.8 billion people by 2050. According to the UN, food production must double in 30 years to feed our growing population. How are we going to feed everyone? Nevertheless, one popular solution to this problem is vertical farming. But like many solutions, this solution has its pros and cons...

      Vertical farming, or vertical gardening is, to put it simply, growing crops in vertically stacked layers. 

    Places like Tokyo, and India use vertical farming to feed their growing population...especially in areas where land is scare.  Soil is ditched altogether and crops are grown in membranes. 

    Vertical farming is credited to Dickson Despommier a professor of ecology at Columbia University. Taking the idea of urban rooftop gardens a step further, he introduced vertical farming towers in buildings. It would allow ALL the floors of the building to grow & produce crops.

PROS:

1.Efficent Land Use

    The first advantage of vertical farming is that there is more efficient land use. If you live in the city, you can grow food without taking up too much space. Less land to grow food!

2.Weather Resistant

     Crops can be protected from environmental problems and weather conditions, too! Many fragile crops like strawberries are badly affected by sudden change in temperature, and as it is done in controlled environment, you don't have to worry about global climate change, and other meteorological reasons like, hailstorms, flooding, wildfires, droughts etc. And you can grow through any season!

3.Produces ORGANIC food

    Key word organic. You don't have to use pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers, because plants can be grown in a organic manner. This benefits both the consumers and operators, since they will get healthier veggies and fruits and they might be able to sell their crops for higher prices.

4.Less Imports from other countries

    The need for countries to import large amounts of vegetables and fruits from foreign countries could be lowered by Vertical Farming. Decrease the dependence on trade with other countries and may also benefit our environment since the transportation of goods carries the emission of harmful gases into our air.

5.Savings in water

    Though are more pros, I’ll end with that it is also water efficient. Over 95% of water can be saved, and reused! This will be especially important in the future since water will become a quite scarce resource due to global warming.

CONS:

1.High Energy Consumption

 It definitely requires significant amounts of energy, since many layers of plants have to be covered by proper lighting. The electricity bill will grow rapidly over time, and since most of our energy is still produced out of fossil fuels, it also 

implies serious greenhouse gas emissions.

2.Potential Job Loss

Vertical farming could replace a lot of traditional farming jobs. The demand for traditional farmers could go down, and affect many people especially in rural areas. Adding on many of these facilities have only a few employees because mostly everything is automated..soon enough they might even kick out those employees!

3.They're Pricey

Vertical farming projects are complicated, and industry experts are needed to set up a vertical gardening system properly.There is a big cost to get these set up, and the vertical farming projects in the moment are all funded by people who can afford the money( an example is Bowery...they are funded by people in Silicon Valley)

What do you guys think? IS vertical farming beneficial, and the future of farming, or do you believe it will cause more damage? IN honor of Earth Day, go to your local farmers market or just grab a fruit or vegetable and savor the wonders of earth!🌱🌎

                                                                                                              ~Arya

Sources: 

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly about Vertical Farming
https://ecofriend.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-about-vertical-farming.html. 

Food Production Must Double by 2050 to Meet Demand from World’s Growing Population, Innovative Strategies Needed to Combat Hunger, Experts Tell Second Committee | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases
https://www.un.org/press/en/2009/gaef3242.doc.htm#:~:text=Food%20production%20must%20double%20by%202050%20to%20meet%20the%20demand,a%20panel%20discussion%20on%20%E2%80%9CNew. 

Pros and Cons of Vertical Farming Systems: What You Need to Know — iGrow
https://www.igrow.news/igrownews/qhmbt70jqgjeptbszhmg5ks2xkhbpi.

29 Major Pros & Cons Of Vertical Farming - E&C
https://environmental-conscience.com/vertical-farming-pros-cons/.