Synthesized answer
The practical implications of vertical farming include year-round crop production and the elimination of weather-related crop failures [1]. It also means no agricultural runoff and no use of pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers [1]. Vertical farms use significantly less water, between 70-95 percent less than traditional farming [1]. Additionally, they lead to greatly reduced food transportation costs, offer more control of food safety and security, and create new employment opportunities [1]. Vertical farms can also contribute to the purification of grey water to drinking water and produce animal feed from postharvest plant material [1].
These farms will be constructed in abandoned business buildings, reusing existing structures rather than requiring new construction, which conserves resources [2]. Urban vertical farming and the utilization of abandoned lots in cities are presented as necessary solutions to feed growing populations [2]. The time is deemed urgent to make decisions that benefit both the present and future generations [2].
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
ces, (i.e., herbicides, pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, etc), and offers insightful ways to help bring these changes. In the next section, he presents how vertical farms will be constructed, where they will be utilized, and how they will be funded initially before they can turn a profit. Here are the advantages that he lists for vertical farming: year-round crop production, no weather-related crop failures, no agricultural runoff, allowance for ecosystem restoration, no use of pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers, use of 70-95 percent less water than traditional farming, greatly reduced…
Brazil to feed all these extra mouths, and with traditional farming methods the majority of those mouths will go unfed. These farms will be in abandoned business buildings being reused, instead of totally new construction, which takes many resources. I hope that as a citizen of a nation known for innovation and taking the next step to solve our problems, we actually want to be able to grow enough food for our growing population. Urban vertical farming and the use of abandoned lots in cities will be and have to be used to feed our communities. The time is now to make sound decisions not only…
Description: There comes an idea every once in a while that has changes the ways in which we live and help us to live longer and to prosper. The next truly great idea, originally introduced and developed by Dr. Dickson Despommier, is that of vertical farming, or farming vertically, however you want to define it. Dr. Despommier is a professor at Columbia University in the Department of Environmental and Health Services and started this concept back in 1999, which has gained considerable steam and attention this past decade, including the October 2010 publishing of his research entitled, The…
Title: The Vertical Farm by Dickson D. Despommier