Vertical Farming on the High Rise

Imagine getting your fresh produce directly off of a nearby building. This building would have multiple stories, with an intricate system that cultivates different plants on every level. This is an example of vertical farming, an idea proposed by Columbia University microbiology and Public Health professor Dickson Despommier, where food is continuously grown in tall buildings within an engineered environment [1]. With an estimated 1,090,000 square miles (about 120% the size of Brazil) of farmland needed to grow enough food for the world’s population in 2050, it is no wonder that vertical farming has been on the rise [2]. In fact, one acre of vertical farm is estimated to equate to about 10 to 20 traditional soil-based farms [1].