3 ms·

Once vertical farming can tackle rice, wheat, corn, and potatoes, then I will be more excited about it.

rorykoehler 6y ago
We just need to get the price of energy down https://www.pnas.org/content/117/32/19131 https://www.pnas.org/content/117/32/19131
jfim 6y ago
I'd be quite the opposite, honestly. Cropland area in the US covers 367 million acres in the US [0]. Even assuming that vertical farming is 10x more land efficient, the amount of resources (steel, power, plastics, etc.) needed to convert 36 million acres of land into vertical farms would have a staggering ecological impact. Just covering that area with a 22 gauge corrugated steel roof, without any supporting structure, would be about 1.35 billion tons of steel [1], or about 75% of the entire world's steel production for a year. There are definitely products that would make sense to grow in vertical farms (eg. high value crops like tomatoes or bell peppers, which are already grown in hothouses in certain areas of the country), but staple crops tend to preserve for a long time, and wouldn't see as much of a benefit from vertical farming. [0] https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/technical/nra/nri/ https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/tech... [1] https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=36000000+acres+*+(9.28kg/m%5E2) https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=36000000+acres+*+(9.28...
- bserge 6y ago
  Yeah, tbf I'm not seeing this as viable for industrial level production. But it does seem like a good fit for individual farms, even in a personal backyard.
  - ian-g 6y ago
    Honestly, it seems like a good weekend project to get going
    - bserge 6y ago
      It is! It's also a great way to learn how plant life works, it's more complicated than people think haha
pvaldes 6y ago
Vertical 'farming' would be revolutionary if we would accept its dark and real hidden nature. Food production is not the real goal here.

We just need to get the price of energy down https://www.pnas.org/content/117/32/19131 https://www.pnas.org/content/117/32/19131

jfim 6y ago

I'd be quite the opposite, honestly. Cropland area in the US covers 367 million acres in the US [0]. Even assuming that vertical farming is 10x more land efficient, the amount of resources (steel, power, plastics, etc.) needed to convert 36 million acres of land into vertical farms would have a staggering ecological impact. Just covering that area with a 22 gauge corrugated steel roof, without any supporting structure, would be about 1.35 billion tons of steel [1], or about 75% of the entire world's steel production for a year. There are definitely products that would make sense to grow in vertical farms (eg. high value crops like tomatoes or bell peppers, which are already grown in hothouses in certain areas of the country), but staple crops tend to preserve for a long time, and wouldn't see as much of a benefit from vertical farming. [0] https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/technical/nra/nri/ https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/tech... [1] https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=36000000+acres+*+(9.28kg/m%5E2) https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=36000000+acres+*+(9.28...

bserge 6y ago
Yeah, tbf I'm not seeing this as viable for industrial level production. But it does seem like a good fit for individual farms, even in a personal backyard.
- ian-g 6y ago
  Honestly, it seems like a good weekend project to get going
  - bserge 6y ago
    It is! It's also a great way to learn how plant life works, it's more complicated than people think haha

pvaldes 6y ago

Vertical 'farming' would be revolutionary if we would accept its dark and real hidden nature. Food production is not the real goal here.