How vertical farming changed the way I think (and eat!)
Before working at Liberty Produce, I must admit that I had limited knowledge of the details of vertical farming. I definitely did not boast horticultural expertise and had only amateur growing attempts (my house plants were not thriving). I simply assumed that the term ‘urban’ or ‘vertical’ farming referred to a smaller-scaled practice which did not contribute to the produce section at large supermarkets. The visions I had of fresh, healthy and ‘organic’ farming consisted of brightly coloured tractors plowing large, green fields under the gaze of a beaming, cartoon sun. My idea of ‘healthy’ agriculture was based on all of the stereotypes that comprise traditional farming practices.
But as I learned more about vertical farming, the environmental impact of traditional methods of agriculture became impossible to ignore.
Before joining Liberty Produce, I was aware that animal agriculture was a leading cause of climate change and global warming, responsible for about 14.5% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Processing these truths had led me to veganism many years ago. Yet, the problems with the way we grow and consume fruits and vegetables through ‘mainstream’ farming practices rarely seemed to be addressed and were never discussed on the same scale as the issues with livestock. In short, I began to realise that our current methods of growing are unsustainable and require urgent change.
The COVID-19 pandemic in particular has made it clear just how fragile our food supply chains are and have laid the foundations to think about farming, food security and food systems differently. Global food demand is increasing exponentially faster than the population growth rate (Bennet’s Law) and current farming practices are not meeting the necessary increase in yields. The FAO (Food and Agriculture Association) estimates that, to feed the world by 2050, food production will have to increase by 70% from 2007 levels. This means that more land and water are required for traditional agriculture, which is likely to exacerbate climate change. The UK already uses 72% of its landmass for agricultural production and, globally, 70% of water is used for farming. Our rainforests, which are home to 50% of the world’s plants and animals, are also disappearing at an alarming rate. Agricultural expansion is estimated to cause 80% of tropical deforestation.
Traditional agriculture also relies on pesticides which not only have the potential to harm our bodies but also contribute to water pollution. Half of UK food is imported which means longer supply chains and staggering air miles.
Alternative crop production technologies are required to address these challenges. Vertical and indoor farming are perhaps the most innovative solutions to opt for. Vertical farming aims to maintain optimal growing conditions in an environment that controls light, CO2, temperature, humidity, water, pH levels and nutrients.
Although it is still in the process of becoming more sustainable, vertical farming is a promising solution for delivering environmentally friendly farming. Compared to traditional agriculture, it can produce more food using less land and water. An added benefit is that production yields can be maintained year-round with no external restrictions (i.e. weather). Vertical farming also uses 70 to 95 percent less water and over 90 percent less land than traditional agriculture, while harvesting 80 percent more per unit of area.
What appealed to the ‘health freak’ within me was that, in contrast to ‘organic’ farming, vertical farming is completely controlled and therefore doesn’t require pesticides and also has better control of pathogen risks (removing the need for chlorine-washing). The local production and shorter supply chain transparency of vertical farming potentially removes the need to extend shelf-life could eliminate single-use plastic wrapping.The increased shelf life of local production will also reduce food waste.
My constantly evolving knowledge of vertical farming has changed the way I think about food and has made a real impact on my choices.
Now, I actively avoid packaged produce, especially the ever-so-popular ‘salad bags’ which line the shelves of most large supermarkets. I noticed how wrapped salad leaves, suffocated by plastic, tend to wilt into ‘sludge’ before our very eyes — at a far quicker pace than unwrapped lettuce. Not only is the enshrouding plastic an obvious waste, but the leaves are doused in chlorine and stripped of their nutritional content in an attempt to increase shelf-life and prevent diseases. This means that vitamins and protective antioxidants (including vitamin C) are consequently destroyed. In contrast, hydroponics and vertical farming preserve them.
The average consumer isn’t usually aware of this information when browsing through their local vegetable aisle during a weekly shop. People tend to pick whatever produce ‘looks’ the freshest and most convenient without considering the long process that placed the product to its unassuming shelf.
My time at Liberty taught me to never choose convenience over quality. We must use this environmental momentum to start reducing our waste and change our harmful growing practices in order to meet our global crop requirements while protecting our planet.
