Is vertical farming the future of food?
Is vertical farming the future of food?
Time and time again we are being told that our food system is broken - that we will not be able to sustain the amount of food we are producing or meet the demands of our growing population. Carbon emissions and food waste are at an all time high, whilst soil health and biodiversity levels are at a low.
There is a lack of support and resources for farmers in the UK and our complicated food networks aren’t providing an even distribution of food to communities. The food poverty & accessibility levels in the UK need to be urgently addressed. We are using damaging practices to meet the demand for food in the UK. And yet, that demand is not being met. So what’s going wrong?
We must find a way to produce more food, in a more sustainable way - using less land and resources. In the documentary A Life on our Planet, David Attenborough points towards using the Dutch agricultural model, claiming it is “entirely possible for us to apply both low tech and high tech solutions to produce much more food from much less land.” Dutch horticulture applies technologies such as greenhouse, indoor and vertical farming to produce higher yields in far smaller areas.
Some suggest the solution lies in changing our diets, to buy from local sources and to reduce meat consumption where possible. Moving away from industrial farming and implementing regenerative and organic practices are also key to the future of sustainable farming.
Giving nature a helping hand
Many champion a return to traditional and organic agriculture as the ultimate sustainable option. Moving away from intensive and industrial farming of the land would enable farmers to protect and restore our Earth’s soil - this is vital, as healthy soil is able to store more carbon and water. Organic farming also delivers considerable benefits for biodiversity, with an average of 40-50% more wildlife on organic farmland compared to non-organic.
This can raise questions as to why indoor farming should be used at all. One reason that people may have doubts about the sustainability of indoor farming is that it is not ‘natural’ - because it does not use the sun, soil, or rain in the traditional sense. Often, there is a belief that sustainability and nature are mutually inclusive - that is, they must always occur together.
However, at LettUs Grow, we like to think that indoor farming is giving nature a helping hand. In the UK, agriculture accounts for 72% of the total area of land. Indoor and vertical farming relieves pressure on our farmlands, freeing up space for organic and regenerative practices, as well as projects to introduce more biodiverse spaces onto farms - which are crucial to the future of our environment and habitats. Controlled environment agriculture seeks to mimic the most productive forms of agriculture, whilst also removing some of the disadvantages to outdoor growing. Aeroponics reproduces the effects of air pockets within a healthy soil system by suspending roots in air and allowing access to oxygen.
Natural doesn’t always mean better
A completely organic and regenerative food production system is appealing. However, it is important to acknowledge that these methods produce less food, with the same amount of land. “Natural” methods of food production are effective and sustainable, but in some ways, romanticised. Nature can also be unforgiving and unfair, bringing along with it its own range of issues for the grower. It’s why many of the unsustainable practices we criticise today were developed in the first place. An unexpected change in weather conditions or a pest infestation can be devastating to crops, and a disappointing harvest can have huge consequences for both consumers and growers. Vertical farms can provide an environment that protects crops from both these things, providing reliable and consistent harvests. This can act as a foundation of year-round-production to stabilise our food supply chain and reduce dependence on imports.
Producing less food is simply not an option - we need to find a way to intensify food production without having to industrially farm our natural environment. Therefore, we see indoor and vertical farming as a low impact solution to boosting food production levels alongside sustainable outdoor practices.
Disrupting food supply chains with indoor farming
Buying local food is hugely beneficial to communities and growers, but also boasts environmental benefits too. Carbon emissions are cut by reducing the amount of air freighting needed to import food, and growing food nearer to the point of consumption can also reduce waste - the less time food spends travelling, the longer it can sit in your fridge. Since vertical farms can operate all year round, they stabilise the amount of food being produced in the UK and also allow farmers to grow more during the UK’s hungry gap.
Urban and rural areas may need to make use of different food production methods. It’s important that we supply food that suits the needs of everyone: living different lifestyles, with different backgrounds and with different means of obtaining, preparing and consuming food. Vertical farms can be deployed anywhere and can make use of derelict spaces - this is true particularly in urban areas. Therefore, vertical farms provide the potential to bring food production closer to areas where access to healthy, fresh produce is low.
Vertical farms and the future of food
Ultimately vertical farming won’t be the entire future of food, but there is a real opportunity to embed indoor farms into sustainable food production systems right now, for a better future. Introducing indoor farms into our food supply chains will only work alongside systematic changes and regenerative outdoor agricultural practices. In order for a small, localised indoor farm to be successful there must be a secure market demand for local produce. There must also be responsible deployment of said farms to avoid issues related to over-saturation of that local market.
In order to meet the UN’s sustainable development goals, there must be a combination of solutions that work for ever-changing communities and needs. Perhaps the most exciting prospect of vertical farming technologies is that these innovations are still developing. As we acknowledge and move away from outdated food practices and move towards more sustainable, ethical and holistic methods of growing, we can look to technology to provide solutions, fill gaps, and strengthen the food production and consumption infrastructures of the future.
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