Advantages of Vertical Farming

♤ Year-round crop production; 1 indoor acre is equivalent to 4-6 outdoor acres or more, depending upon the crop (e.g., strawberries: 1 indoor acre = 30 outdoor acres)

♤ No weather-related crop failures due to droughts, floods, pests

♤ All VF food is grown organically: no herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers

♤ VF virtually eliminates agricultural runoff by recycling black water

♤ VF returns farmland to nature, restoring ecosystem functions and services

♤ VF greatly reduces the incidence of many infectious diseases that are acquired at the agricultural interface

♤ VF converts black and gray water into potable water by collecting the water of evapotranspiration

♤ VF adds energy back to the grid via methane generation from composting non-edible parts of plants and animals

♤ VF dramatically reduces fossil fuel use (no tractors, plows, shipping.)

♤ VF converts abandoned urban properties into food production centers

♤ VF creates sustainable environments for urban centers

♤ VF creates new employment opportunities

♤ We cannot go to the moon, Mars, or beyond without first learning to farm indoors on earth

♤ VF may prove to be useful for integrating into refugee camps

♤ VF offers the promise of measurable economic improvement for tropical and subtropical LDCs. If this should prove to be the case, then VF may be a catalyst in helping to reduce or even reverse the population growth of LDCs as they adopt urban agriculture as a strategy for sustainable food production.

♤ VF could reduce the incidence of armed conflict over natural resources, such as water and land for agriculture