By Vertical farming, or vertically growing crops without soil through hydroponics or aquaponics systems, provides benefits when it comes to efficiency in space and water use. However, indoor vertical farming also demands a higher amount of energy and artificial lighting compared to traditional farming.
Urban and vertical farming methods are becoming prevalent worldwide as it is feasible for everyone. This can be practiced by simply reusing materials at home and building your own DIY system. This also allows more individuals to grow food in urban areas, especially those who live in small spaces.
It may have several advantages, but vertical farming is also a method of growing food that requires more energy, lighting, and climate control, which may contribute more pollution to the earth. Despite the need for the world to produce more food, it also stresses the importance of reducing carbon footprint.
Raised bed farming as an alternative
As a substitution to this, one can also produce food through raised beds in rooftops or community gardens. Raised bed farming is a more sustainable way to grow food compared to vertical farming as it requires less energy and does not need any artificial lighting.
In urban areas, empty rooftops can provide agricultural opportunities for anyone. There are many cities around the world where rooftops are turned into green spaces. In fact, In France, commercial establishments with rooftops are mandatory to be partially or fully covered with plants or solar panels. This shows that rooftops can be a great start to practice farming. Anyone can simply build a raised bed at home to maximize their available space while growing food.
In farming, food production isn’t the only crucial aspect for it to be successful, but understanding the impact of energy consumption is also a major component in sustainability and food security.
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