Vertical Farming Essay

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Vertical farming Vertical farming is cultivating plant or animal life within a skyscraper greenhouse or on vertically inclined surfaces. The idea of a vertical farm has existed at least since the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The modern idea of vertical farming uses techniques similar to glass houses, where natural sunlight can be augmented with artificial lighting.[1] Contents 1 Types 1.1 Mixed-use skyscrapers o 1.2 Despommier's skyscrapers • 2 History • 3 Advantages o 3.1 Preparation for the future o 3.2 Increased crop production o 3.3 Protection from weather-related problems o 3.4 Conservation of resources o 3.5 Organic crops o 3.6 Halting mass extinction o 3.7 Impact on human health o 3.8 Urban growth o 3.9 Energy production • 4 Technologies and devices • 5 Plans • 6 Problems o 6.1 Economics o 6.2 Energy use o 6.3 Pollution • 7 See also • 8 References • 9 External links Types[edit source | edit] "Vertical farming" was coined by Gilbert Ellis Bailey in 1915 in his book Vertical Farming. This was not the current meaning—he wrote about farming underground with the use of explosives.[2] Modern usage refers to skyscrapers using some degree of natural light. Mixed-use skyscrapers[edit source | edit] Mixed-use skyscrapers were proposed and built by architect Ken Yeang. Yeang proposes that instead of hermetically sealed mass-produced agriculture that plant life should be cultivated within open air, mixed-use skyscrapers for climate control and consumption (i.e. a personal or communal planting space as per the needs of the individual). This version of vertical farming is based upon personal or community use rather than the wholesale production and distribution plant and animal life that aspires to feed an entire city. It thus requires less of an initial investment than Despommier's "The

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