Given our need to think of ways to help the Harlem community with access to fresh vegetables and fruits, I was thinking about how practical it would be to create a farm or greenhouse but the seasonal changes would play a major role on the practicality of this idea. However, I wanted to share the idea of a project known as the Vertical Farm Project created by a professor at Columbia University named Dr. Dickson Despommier. In high school I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Dr. Despommier regarding farming indoors. Why??? you may ask, well by the year 2050, there will be more people than there is land and more people mean more mouths to feed, but less land means less space to grow crops. His solution includes growing crops vertically in buildings through different methods (ex. hydrophonics) as oppose to horizontally on the ground. He currently has several proposals for designs and there are several powerpoints [one of which includes how the vertical farm would help the Harlem community given its socioeconomic impact].
www.verticalfarm.com
Thanks Chitra. Vertical farming is amazing and Dr. Despommier has done amazing talks around the country to convince people on this new idea. I hope people look into it more, and big corporations can try the vertical farming and evaluate the results... I hope you classmates check this link as it could be one of the potential solutions given financial resources to promote local farming in NYC in future....
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of vertical farming, especially if Dr. Despommier's prediction about the rising population comes true.
ReplyDeleteAlso I think if we can artificially farm on Earth, the next step would be to do so on Mars or the Moon. (I hope to see ppl living on the moon or Mars in my lifetime)