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Whereas the number of people living in cities worldwide is continually growing, the already scarce area used for growing food and resources has been steadily shrinking.
This disparity, however, can be partly bridged by urban farming, the practice of growing food in cities and urban areas. Fraunhofer IAO has published a study investigating how cities could benefit from locally grown food and resources, looking at indoor plant and microalgae cultivation.
Safeguarding the long-term supply of food and resources to urban areas is a growing challenge – particularly in densely populated cities with limited access to surrounding agricultural land. Furthermore, intensive farming practices and heavy use of chemicals are putting increasing pressure on natural resources and land.
Algae farming is tough sledding.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by r_a_trip on Thursday September 06 2018, @10:33AM
You are forgetting that indoor farms are stacked. One floor can house multiple layers of produce. With LED lighting, the power consumption goes down considerably in comparison to incandescent. Also, plants do not require the same heating as humans. This brings further savings. Combine that with minimal contaminants on the produce, far less need for pesticides and no need for soil and significantly less water than field agricultulture and it might be that it brings equal profit with less intensive methods.