The idea of vertical farming is all the rage right now.
Architects and engineers have come up with spectacular concepts for lofty
buildings that could function as urban food centers of the future.
In Sweden, for example, they're planning a 177-foot
skyscraper to farm leafy greens at the edge of each floor. But so far, most
vertical gardens that are up and running actually look more like large
greenhouses than city towers. And many horticulturists don't think sky-high
farms in cities are practical.
"The idea of taking a skyscraper and turning it into a
vertical farming complex is absolutely ridiculous from an energy
perspective," says horticulturist Cary Mitchell of Purdue University,
who's been working on ways to grow plants in space for more than 20 years.