As our population grows,
we're going to need a lot more farms
to feed the planet.
Yet, in a lot of places,
farming is almost impossible.
And much of the land
we can use for farming is disappearing.
With so many farms on land,
could we build farms vertically to save space?
Maybe it’s time to grow ... up?
The United States has 10 percent
of the world's farmland.
But between the years 1992 and 2012,
over 12 million hectares (31 million acres)
of it was gobbled up due to development.
That's 70 hectares (175 acres) per hour.
As populations grow,
this is happening in other countries
around the world too.
So where can we grow food?
People have built farms all over our planet,
in the most unlikely places.
We’ve grown food in arid deserts
and on the sides of mountains,
and used greenhouses
to extend growing seasons.
But what about in a plantscraper?
A Swedish company called Plantagon
is working on one right now.
The $40 million World Food Building,
in Sweden, is set to open in 2020.
The company calls this process
So why should we farm vertically?
Well, we’d save a lot of space
and water.
In fact, vertical farming
saves 80-95% of the water
used in traditional outdoor farming,
by using computer controlled
mist and slow drip systems.
Vertical farming also means
we wouldn't need
expensive combines and tractors.
Cities would have fresher veggies,
and we wouldn’t need to send trucks
great distances to transport food.
This would cut pollution too.
So how, exactly,
could we build a vertical farm?
Using the power of AI,
companies such as Belgium’s
Urban Crop Solutions
are creating climate-controlled
vertical farms up to 24 levels high.
Farmers can grow anywhere
from 75,000 to 91.5 million crops
per year indoors.
The company also sells
indoor vertical farming kits
for 12 m (40 ft) shipping containers.
These kits offer four to six levels,
which can grow up to 54,000 crops per year.
With the ability to control the lighting,
moisture levels and nutrients
for each type of crop by using computers,
plants grow much faster in a vertical farm.
Plus, vertical farms don’t require pesticides,
since they are contained indoors
and are high up off the ground
where many insects thrive
The majority of the crops grown
in vertical farms include
leafy green vegetables like
kale,
bok choi,
watercress,
arugula,
lettuce,
mizuna,
mustard greens,
collard greens,
basil,
mint,
chard
and chives.
That's almost everything you'd need
for a power smoothie.
Companies have started building vertical farms
in existing urban spaces,
such as abandoned warehouses and factories.
The vertical farms can turn cities'
excess heat and waste
into vital assets for local food production.
In China, entire districts are devoted
to agriculture and vertical farming.
With a rapidly growing population,
less and less land has become available,
and pollution is a big problem
for traditional farms.
In this case, growing vertically
has become a necessity.
Vertical farms have proven to be invaluable
after natural disasters,
such as the destruction
of the nuclear power plant
at Fukushima in Japan in 2011.
Since land near the reactor
was not safe for growing crops,
consumers were happy
to have their lettuce grown indoors.
Five years later,
there were more than
190 vertical farms in Japan.
One company says it grows
21,000 heads of lettuce per day.
That’s a lot of salad!
Many countries in the Middle East
import almost 80% of their food
due to their arid climate and landscape.
Vertical farms could drastically
improve this situation,
and would also create more jobs in the area.
Tech companies like Google,
Amazon and Asia-Pacific
are already investing in vertical farming
and automated agriculture.
Soon we’ll start seeing vertical farms
in many more urban areas.
These will help to bring communities together
and provide safe access to nutritious food.
But in order for vertical farms to succeed,
they will need the backing of consumers.
Some people argue that this kind of farm
is too unnatural or expensive.
While others like the idea
of fresh food produced closer to home.
What do you think?
Let us know in the comments below.
In the near future,
we may need to make vertical farming
an even bigger priority,
especially if we run out of oil.