Skyscraper Farms Could Feed Millions by 2050

As the years have marched on and technology has progressed, one very important aspect of life has suffered: food quality.  Instead of using space wisely and growing food as locally as possible, we’ve come to rely on factory farms and produce shipped from hundreds – sometimes thousands – of miles away.  But, just because there isn’t space on the ground for traditional farms doesn’t mean urban areas can’t have fresh, local food.  Skyscraper farms have the potential to not only bring food production back to the local level – they could divert a major worldwide food shortage.

Scientist Dickson Despommier, a professor of public health at Columbia University, came up with the concept and hopes to see it implemented on a worldwide scale as soon as possible.

From Mail Online:

The revolutionary scientist proposes gleaming 21 storey skyscrapers that could potentially be as productive as 588 acres of land and grow up to 12 million lettuces a year.

He said the farms, projected to cost £45m to build and £2.7m a year to run, would be both environmentally friendly and economically profitable.

Dr Despommier created his concept in 1999 with graduate students during a class on medical ecology.

With the world’s population expected to increase to 3 billion by 2050 and almost 80 per cent of farming land in use, the idea has never been more relevant.

City planners and developers across the world have regarded Despommier’s idea with suspicion, but we can’t see why.  It seems so basic, so obvious, that we can’t believe people haven’t already begun doing it.  What’s the hold up?  We want to see these things built ASAP!

Link [Mail Online]

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