...
written by Rob , January 11, 2008

And this farm will be organic too, will it?

Is this really any better?
written by Adam , January 11, 2008

I'd like to see an energy balance done on this. Is it really any better to build a 30 story farm then to just import your produce from nearby California where it can grow naturally outside?

Everything you want to know about vertic
written by Ryan , January 11, 2008

http://www.verticalfarm.com/

This covers pretty much everything about vertical farms, including an energy analysis.

Vertical farming isn't only about reducing energy usage, but about feeding a world population of over 9 billion in forty to fifty years. It's the right idea, at the right time, and I'm excited to see someone actually build one!

Who's in charge here?
written by Tricia , January 11, 2008

I'm not clear on whether this is a government or corporate operation. Can someone clarify? With scientific control over food supply isn't there some concern with standard oligopoly or monopoly issues in this farming concept of the future?

Nice...
written by jackpine savage , January 11, 2008

This is an elegant solution; i say elegant because the solution addresses multiple problems.

I'm somewhat surprised that it won't be hydroponic, which would make organic very difficult. (That's a complicated issue having to do with dissolved solids in the nutrient solution and general gumming up of the works.)

CEA (Controlled Environment Agriculture) is far, far, far more efficient than outdoor production. It's downside is that it takes far, far, far more knowledge to operate. The upsides are that yield per acre (or sq foot) can be significantly higher. Fertilizer use can also be much lower, due to being able to closely monitor the plants; apply the correct dosage; and minimize fertilizer waste. It is also much easier to operate integrated pest management systems (such as predator pests) in CEA than in the field. Finally, water usage is not only significantly lower, it is also possible to capture/recycle water in CEA.

One of the unstated advantages of this project is that it will help localize and decentralize food production. Not only will systems such as this provide a better food product (particularly in that fruits and vegetables can be picked ripe, rather than ripening in transport) to the consumer, it can do so without the massive, externalized costs of conventional agriculture.

This is exactly the way we should be focusing our technological know-how towards environmental issues.

I've been readin about these for a while
written by Webster , January 11, 2008

I'll read the link provided above, but I'm curious about the ROI on these. If we can move food production into the cities, we can clean the air, extend the lifetimes of our infrastructure, and slow down the GMO companies that are polluting the food supply.

...
written by Lillian , January 11, 2008

Urban agriculture would be a lot easier if we converted all the space devoted to motor vehicles into food production.

(PS The world already produces more food than we can eat. We just distribute it in an unequal fashion.)

(PPS I certainly hope this skyscraper isn't going to use pesticides, considering it is climate controlled.)

Vegas Vertical Farm? Not likely.
written by Chris Jacobs , January 14, 2008

Are you sure that the Vegas farm is real? They seem to be using my designs and illustrations to proliferate this story. My designs are at www.chrisjacobs.com. I've been following this Vegas story....and not only did they not contact the brainchild of the Vertical Farm Project...but the story takes direct quotes off the www.verticalfarm.com site. I personally arranged tons of meetings with developers, architects...etc to build a farm in Los Angeles, and we came to the $200M number...I think someone has been talking to people involved in those meetings. Maybe one of us should find out if this story is real! This Vegas farm story seems to be more of a viral story to garner some attention it itself. I just wish they'd give me some credit for the designs they're showing in all the articles....even this one! And for the record..the illustration at the top of this page was done for an article in New York Magazine...and was meant to visually show a "sexy" image of a vertical farm....in reality...a real Vertical Farm would be housing loads of Hydroponic systems that look about as sexy as Britney Spears after her last haircut. We needed to produce a visual that spawned some excitement. And .... for the record...that was the very second article about the vertical farm published in a printed piece. The first was from Plenty Magazine showing one of our designs...the more prolific one. Since that first article...it's been in over 100 national and international publications.