Science

Farms In the Sky(scraper)

Could the entire population of New York City be fed with food generated in 150 skyscraper-housed farms, each 30 stories high? That’s the dream of Columbia University professor Dickson Despammier and the Vertical Farm Project: These "vertical farms" would produce crops, poultry, and fish year-round in a controlled environment free of pollutants, parasites, and dangerous […]

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Could the entire population of New York City be fed with food generated in 150 skyscraper-housed farms, each 30 stories high? That's the dream of Columbia University professor Dickson Despammier and the Vertical Farm Project:

These "vertical farms" would produce crops, poultry, and fish year-round in a controlled environment free of pollutants, parasites, and dangerous microbes. "What would happen to Harlem if vertical farms were a reality?" Despommier asks. "Diets would change; disease would change."

Their vertical farm prototype is based on existing technology for hothouse farming and would recycle some of the 1.4 billion gallons of water that New Yorkers pour down the drain every day.... Pests and late-spring frosts wouldn't be an issue. Fish could live in tanks;
poultry in small pens. Plants could be raised hydroponically-without soil, suspended in water or some other solution. Sunlight would be used to generate heat and electricity to optimize growing conditions around the clock. "We shouldn't be at the whims of nature when it comes to providing calories and water," Despommier says.

Farm of the Future? [US News and World Report]

Image: Vertical Farm Project