the movement

Urban Agriculture

border graphic Urban Agriculture

Today’s current food system is unsustainable economically, environmentally and socially.  The world’s rural and centralized food production uses a vast amount of resources—land, water, transportation— which will become increasingly scarce and expensive as world populations grow and continue to urbanize.  At the same time these resources diminish, demand for local safe and fresh food will increase, and  current food production levels will be required to double by 2050 to support the world’s population.  Centralized food production creates enormous risk and reduces food security in much of the world.  One crop loss, crop contamination, or transportation interruption can lead to empty shelves or recalls across countries.  Farmers continue to face challenges across seasonality, weather, pests and disease.  Despite these challenges, the industry continues to employ rural, soil-based farming methods.  Urban agricultural is the solution.

Population Growth

  • Of the current population of 6.5 billion, nearly 1 billion are undernourished.
  • According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, the world needs to double its current level of food production to support a population of 9 billion by 2050.
  • Given finite arable land, fuel and water supplies, vertical farming is the only solution to meeting this global challenge.

Urbanization

  • Over 80% of the 9 billion population in 2050 will live in urban centers.
  • Increased transportation miles is not sustainable.
  • Urban farming is the only solution to meeting this distribution challenge.

Limited Resources

  • Nearly all of the world's arable land is already in use.
  • On-going soil erosion and expanding urbanization contribute to the continuous loss of cropland.
  • Areas with the highest populations growths suffer from the most extreme climates, such as the Middle East.
  • Water scarcity is already a life-threatening issue, affecting 1 in 3 people globally.
  • Resource-efficient technology is the only solution for providing the level of food required facing finite and dwindling resources.

Climate Change

  • Scientists predict that Climate Change will result in drastic floods and droughts destroying traditional farmland.
  • Three recent floods alone cost the US billions of dollars in lost crops.
  • Changes in rain patterns and temperature could diminish India’s agricultural output by 30% by the end of the century.
  • The world needs a sustainable solution that is no longer susceptible to weather conditions or seasonality.

Health

  • Obesity remains a deadly epidemic that continues to spread, with 2/3 of the US considered overweight.
  • In comparison, over 1 billion people globally are undernourished.