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How Urban Agriculture Can Improve Food Security in Us Cities

posted by martyb on Wednesday February 13 2019, @08:47PM   Printer-friendly
from the Balconies-and-roofs dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Phys.org:

Urban farming has grown by more than 30 percent in the United States in the past 30 years. Although it has been estimated that urban agriculture can meet 15 to 20 percent of global food demand, it remains to be seen what level of food self-sufficiency it can realistically ensure for cities.

One recent survey found that 51 countries do not have enough urban area to meet a recommended nutritional target of 300 grams per person per day of fresh vegetables. Moreover, it estimated, urban agriculture would require 30 percent of the total urban area of those countries to meet global demand for vegetables. Land tenure issues and urban sprawl could make it hard to free up this much land for food production.

Is urban farming a pipe dream, or can appropriating vacant lots for traditional farming or employing hydroponics make it work?

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  • (Score: 1) by Gault.Drakkor on Thursday February 14 2019, @01:30AM (2 children)

    by Gault.Drakkor (1079) on Thursday February 14 2019, @01:30AM (#800822)

    What I am wondering is if there will be quantity and quality in it

    Quantity maybe, depends on how much automation and 3d stacking is done.

    Quality, potentially FAR higher.
    Many fruits and vegetables have a narrow window of best before.
    Can you imagine going and purchasing produce that was picked hours / minutes before you purchased it?

    Current industrial crops are being pushed to narrow ripeness windows so that crops can be harvested one shot. Many crops produce more if you do partial picking of what is currently ready. Robotic (or manual) pick on demand can increase quantity and quality.

    Many cultivars(tomatoes, mangoes, bananas) that are found in the stores are the ones that ship well. If you are growing locally you can grow the best tasting cultivars that don't ship because you are not shipping the produce. This could be a marketing thing for a urban farmer.

    There is definite potential for quality boosting with urban agriculture.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 14 2019, @02:33AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 14 2019, @02:33AM (#800840)

    Many fruits and vegetables have a narrow window of best before. Can you imagine going and purchasing produce that was picked hours / minutes before you purchased it?

    Sounds great, except you then can only get the produce that was just picked.

    Today's dinner: rhubarb, with a side of rhubarb and rhubarb pie for dessert!

  • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday February 14 2019, @10:47AM

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Thursday February 14 2019, @10:47AM (#800946) Homepage Journal

    but not at all in California.

    The grocery stores here have all manner of apples that I've never seen anywhere else.

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]