As concerns grow over the cost and safety of our food, people are increasingly looking for more reliable, local sources to feed themselves.   But as much as I love gardening and encourage others to get their hands dirty, I realize that sourcing all of your food from your backyard is not realistic for most people, especially for us city dwellers.   While community and rooftop gardens are sprouting up all over, people are starting to look up for alternatives with what is known as vertical farming, which Nicole wrote about earlier this year. Skyscraper farms?  Amazing.   And building plans are in the works everywhere from New York to Dubai, and San Francisco to Shanghai.   Columbia University professor Dickson Despommier envisions:

buildings where water is recycled throughout, nonedible plant parts are composted and methane is collected and turned into heat. Water from pools holding freshwater fish, such as trout and striped bass, is filtered and routed to peppers and strawberries, which are pollinated by resident bees. Chickens cluck on one floor while pigs snuffle about on another their waste turned into pellets that become an energy source.

A 2007 UN report estimates that by 2050 there may be 5 billion city dwellers, and they’re all going to be hungry.   By utilizing solar and wind power, reducing water and land needs, vertical farming could provide a very sustainable solution.   Food miles would drastically be cut, agricultural variables would be reduced, and cities could remain self-sufficient, particularly in the event of a natural disaster when outside resources are cut off.

Learn more by visiting the Vertical Farm Projects website.

Until the dream of veritcal farms is realized takepart by getting involved with urban community farming projects like the amazing Added Value Farm in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Related:

“Farms in the Sky” a Solution to Global Food Crisis?