Crops
are being harvested on the top of New York buildings as conservationists and
ecologists push for greater use of our resources, particularly those that offer
location benefits to the mass populations using our cities.
A
company called Aerofarms in the US is converting a 70,000 sq.ft. old steel mill
in Newark to food production in the latest development of this technology.
There have even been discussions around dedicating complete skyscrapers to food
production. Ecologist Dickson Despommier from Columbia University argues that
vertical farming is legitimate for environmental reasons. He claims that the
cultivation of plant life within skyscrapers will require less embedded energy
and produce less pollution than some methods of producing plant life on natural
landscapes. (Wikipedia) Of course you don't have to dedicate complete skyscrapers to this type of operation. Small rooftop set-ups that feed single restaurants have also shown benefits.
QVM
could be an ideal location for such a venture, given our impeccable credentials
for all things food. We have the luxury of a 7 hectare CBD site, and some money
in the bank with a renewal. Such technology may shake the boundaries for our
traditionalists but at least we wouldn't be looking like a supermarket - we
would be jumping way ahead of them. (Actually some work has already been done
in German supermarkets.)
There
is something very comforting about the thought of all those plants sucking in
the carbon dioxide from our CBD and converting it to food. QVM could grow its
own food, powered by our own rooftop solar panels, and fed by collected
rainwater in our own underground water storage facilities on Queen St. How
environmentally beneficial is that?
QVM
has long held a prominent position in food supply although intense competition,
particularly from supermarkets, has narrowed the gap. Maybe our own vertical
food production is one way of stepping ahead.
Further
reading - http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/conservation/issues/vertical-farming.htm
