Vertical farms are a terrible idea and I am baffled as to why this isn't apparent to everyone [1]. Here's just a few of the glaring errors from this article:

Vertical farms are a terrible idea and I am baffled as to why this isn't apparent to everyone [1]. Here's just a few of the glaring errors from this article: Lower fossil fuel usage This is daft, and comes from massively overestimating of the energy costs of harvesting and shipping food around[2] and massively underestimating the energy costs of growing plants under lights. When plants are out in the fields they're getting solar energy for free. When you've got twenty stories of hydroponic equipment, you're having to generate all the energy they need to grow yourself. Organic There's no reason that molds, fungi and pests can't grow indoors. every idle office tower project could be bringing in $1.5 million dollars a year rather than losing money. Only if you forget about running costs. Energy costs themselves will be staggering. [3] [1] For one thing, I find it telling that the people who are enthusiastic about vertical farming always seem to be highly educated city dwellers and never people who actually grow food for a living. [2] The words "food miles" are always a massive red flag. [3] £9.82 of energy required to grow half a kilo of wheat http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2010/08/16/towering-lunacy/ http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2010/08/16/towering-lunacy/