Salads of the future may still be served in bowls, but their
ingredients might be grown in skyscrapers. That's the hope of
scientists and architects who are erecting a unique strategy to
feed a swelling population on a planet with finite farmland. "In
another 40 years, there'll be another three billion people. That's
the problem," said Dickson Despommier, a professor of public
health at Columbia University in New York. "We have to find
another way to feed them."
One solution, Despommier believes, is to grow
everything from salad greens to staple grains year-round in highrise
buildings at the hearts of urban centers. This so-called
vertical farming could put food within easy reach for billions of
people while reducing carbon emissions from shipping crops
across continents and oceans, he notes. "The concept is based on
technologies already in use throughout the world, mainly hightech
greenhouses," Despommier said. For example, many
existing greenhouses use hydroponics, a technique for growing
crops in smaller spaces using nutrient-enriched water instead of soil
Salads of the future may still be served in bowls, but theiringredients might be grown in skyscrapers. That's the hope ofscientists and architects who are erecting a unique strategy tofeed a swelling population on a planet with finite farmland. "Inanother 40 years, there'll be another three billion people. That'sthe problem," said Dickson Despommier, a professor of publichealth at Columbia University in New York. "We have to findanother way to feed them."One solution, Despommier believes, is to groweverything from salad greens to staple grains year-round in highrisebuildings at the hearts of urban centers. This so-calledvertical farming could put food within easy reach for billions ofpeople while reducing carbon emissions from shipping cropsacross continents and oceans, he notes. "The concept is based ontechnologies already in use throughout the world, mainly hightechgreenhouses," Despommier said. For example, manyexisting greenhouses use hydroponics, a technique for growingcrops in smaller spaces using nutrient-enriched water instead of soil
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