Vertical farming is a proposed agricultural technique involving large-scale agriculture in urban high-rises or "farmscrapers" Using advanced greenhouse technology and greenhouse methods such as hydroponics, these buildings would produce fruit, vegetables, edible mushrooms and algae year-round. If traditional farming could be replaced by constructing urban food production centers - vertical farms - then a long-term benefit would be the gradual repair of many of the world's damaged ecosystems through the systematic abandonment of farmland. In temperate and tropical zones, the re-growth of hardwood forests could play a significant role in carbon sequestration and may help reverse current trends in global climate change. Social benefits of vertical farming include the creation of a sustainable urban environment that encourages good health for all who choose to live there; new employment opportunities; fewer abandoned lots and buildings; cleaner air; and an abundant supply of safe drinking water.
Vertical farming not only emerge as a solution to future needs of natural food requirements but also is perfect supplement as it provides:
1. Year-round crop production.
2. Eliminates agricultural runoff.
3. Significantly reduces use of fossil fuels (farm machines and transport of crops).
4. Makes use of abandoned or unused properties.
5. No weather-related crop failures.
6. Offers the possibility of sustainability for urban centers.
7. Converts black and gray water to drinking water by collecting the water of Trans evaporation.
8. Adds energy back to the grid via methane generation using inedible parts of crop plants.
9. Creates new urban employment opportunities.
10. Reduces the risk of infection from agents transmitted interface.
Complete Article and Images are available in Building Giants Nov-Jan 2010 Issue