The Benefits of Vertical Farming and How Restaurants Can Get Involved
Vertical farming is one method that can help us meet the needs of a growing population. In this article, we explain what vertical farming involves, look at its benefits and examine how restaurants can get involved.
Our global population now sits at over eight billion, expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. This growth will mean a significant increase in demand for resources like food, water and energy – resources that are already stretched.
To meet these demands, it’s clear that we need new, smart agricultural systems that are highly productive without being environmentally damaging, providing a sustainable means of food production for the long term. Vertical agriculture is one such method. Read on to learn more about how these clever farms can play a key role in feeding future generations.
What is vertical farming?
Put simply, vertical farming is the practice of growing plants in vertically stacked layers, maximising efficient use of space to allow more plants to be grown per square metre of land. This can provide many multiple times the yield for any given land area.
There are three main types of vertical farm systems:
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Hydroponic: Plants are supplied with a liquid solution comprised of all essential nutrients needed for optimal plant growth.
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Aquaponic: Hydroponic plant production is integrated with fish production. Plants are fertilised using the nutrient-rich fish water that has been filtered, converted to nitrates and supplemented with additional nutrients.
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Growing media: Plants are cultivated in a soil-free medium and then supplied with a nutrient solution.
Vertical farming is not a complete solution; some crops simply won’t work in these environments, and there will always be a need for other growing methods. While vertical farms are becoming more cost-effective, they can have high start-up costs and energy bills, meaning that – to date – they currently only make sense for certain crops. Small plants with large profit margins are best-suited: think salad leaves, micro-herbs and berries.
That said, vertical farming is a valuable piece of our toolkit for how we feed the world in the future. Read on for some of the many advantages of vertical farming.
The benefits of vertical farming
Vertical farming has many benefits, providing high levels of output with minimal environmental impact and using very little space.
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Uses fewer resources. With vertical farming techniques including closed-loop water recycling, farmers can use up to 98% less water than traditional farms, and much less land. Vertical farms are also suitable for running on solar power.
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Efficient production. Vertical farming provides high overall yields compared to traditional agriculture and is suitable for consistent, year-round production regardless of weather or climate.
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Reduced environmental impact. This way of farming can significantly reduce many of the issues associated with traditional farming. Because indoor farming is closed off from the environment, it does not interact with local ecosystems and has no effect on biodiversity. With no agricultural run-off, it also leaves nearby waterways unaffected.
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No need for pesticides. By controlling the crops’ environment, vertical farming systems typically have little need for pesticides.
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Suitable for any climate. Because vertical farms can be constructed with a small footprint and can even be integrated into existing buildings and rooftops, they can be built nearly anywhere, even in desert climates or in areas with badly depleted soils where traditional agriculture is no longer productive. This can also help to protect farmers’ income from the effects of climate change.
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Makes good use of empty space. Vertical farming is an incredibly efficient way to repurpose empty spaces in cities – like disused factories and offices, empty warehouses, rooftops or even shipping containers – into functional, productive farms that can provide growing populations with fresh, locally-grown food.
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Feeds growing cities. The share of the world’s population living in urban areas is expected to rise to 80% by 2050. This means a higher demand for food in the areas where land is most limited. Vertical farming offers a way to help meet this demand from within cities themselves, reducing the need for more arable land elsewhere.
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Provides equal access to fresh food. More heavily populated and economically challenged areas are becoming ‘food deserts’ that lack access to fresh produce. Vertical farming can provide healthy food where only unhealthy options were previously available. With little transport or warehousing processes involved, it can also produce affordable and nutritional food for low-income families.
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Creates employment. Using previously disused spaces and buildings means additional employment in the area, boosting the local economy.
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Reduced emissions. Since vertical farms can be constructed in urban areas, food has little distance to travel, significantly reducing food miles. They are also often designed with solar panels.
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Fresher produce. The shorter the distance between where food is grown and where it’s consumed, the fresher it is when it reaches your kitchen and your customers’ plates. This means higher levels of nutrients can be retained and can also reduce food waste.
How restaurants can get involved (and examples)
Whether sourcing directly from farms or installing their own growing space, more and more food service businesses around the world are making use of vertical agriculture.
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Start sourcing from vertical farms: Sourcing strategies should form a key component of sustainability work for the hospitality sector. Because of the many positive impacts of bringing vertical agriculture into city spaces, it makes sense for urban restaurants to begin turning to vertical farms to source some of their ingredients.
At Teible in Dubai, founder Peter Ahn now sources a lot of his produce from Veggitech to reduce the restaurant's environmental footprint. “It’s like a farming revolution happening in the sky,” he told The SRA recently, “with smart tech optimising plant growth, and harvests [ready] much faster than conventional farms.” Within 12 hydroponic towers in Ireland’s south-west, Killarney Urban Farm is growing fruits, vegetables and herbs especially for the hospitality sector.
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Build your own green space: Going one step further, some restaurants are starting to install their own vertical farming systems, growing their own leaves and herbs while creating fantastic talking points and a stand-out memory for diners.
In Singapore, Fairmont Singapore and Swissôtel The Stamford collaborated with gardening experts to convert their shared herb and vegetable garden into a symbiotic aquaponic farm, which provides local, fresh fish and produce within an urban environment. Meanwhile, in Nebraska, USA, a restaurant called Gather in Omaha has its own on-site urban vertical farm including 61 aeroponic towers. Providing a true farm-to-table experience, everything is harvested for use within the restaurant itself.
Last year, Le Meridien Hong Kong, Cyberport became the first hotel in the city to set up an indoor vertical farming system. They partnered with Farmacy to install a 'green wall' hydroponics system that grows fresh microgreens and herbs for their four restaurants and bar. The green wall has been a hit with guests, inspiring plenty of conversation. In a heavy, humid urban jungle like Hong Kong, an indoor green wall like this provides a much-needed breath of fresh air. It also helps to regulate temperatures, softens the city noise and acts as a natural air purifier by converting CO2 into oxygen. Within the constant hustle of a city environment, this small green havens offers locals a moment of respite that can improve mood and even benefit mental health, leaving customers feeling relaxed and refreshed.
For more inspiration on how you can redirect your sourcing strategy to help build a better food future, follow our #EatForTomorrow campaign on Instagram and LinkedIn. To learn more about Sourcing and the other two pillars of the Food Made Good Standard, click here. To get started on your own sustainability journey, sign up today!
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Jocelyn leads our UK Comms team and is responsible for managing our content strategy, growing our audience and building our global reputation. Jocelyn holds a BSc in Hospitality Management and an MSc in Food Culture & Communications, and is a member of the Irish Food Writers’ Guild. Her background includes on-the-ground F&B experience; a decade of food writing, editing and publishing; content creation for some of Ireland’s biggest food brands; and developing the content marketing strategy for a suite of menu management and carbon tracking software.
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