ABy the year 2050, nearly 80% of the Earth's population will live in urban centres. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about three billion people by then. An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% larger than Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming methods continue as they are practised today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use. Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices. What can be done to ensure enough food for the world's population to live on?
BThe concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes and other produce has been in vogue for some time. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another three billion people. Many believe an entirely new approach to indoor farming is required, employing cutting-edge technologies. One such proposal is for 'Vertical Farming'. In theory, this concept would enable multi-storey buildings in cities to be used as production facilities for food. Proponents claim that a single 30-storey building could supply food for 50,000 people. It would create environmentally friendly, year-round crop production, drastically reduce transport emissions and eliminate the need for pesticides and fertilizers.
CProponents of vertical farming point to the fact that crops could be grown year-round, as they would be kept in artificially controlled, optimum growing conditions. There would be no weather-related crop failures due to droughts, floods or pests. All the food could be grown organically, eliminating the need for herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. The system would greatly reduce the incidence of many infectious diseases that are acquired at the agricultural interface. Although the system would consume energy, it would return energy to the grid via methane generation from composting non-edible parts of plants. It would also dramatically reduce fossil fuel use, by cutting out the need for tractors, combines and other shipping.
DA major drawback of vertical farming, however, is that the plants would require artificial light. Without it, those plants nearest the windows would be exposed to more sunlight and grow more quickly, reducing the efficiency of the system. Generating enough light could be very expensive, unless cheap, renewable energy is available, and this appears to be rather a future aspiration than a likelihood for the near future. One variation on vertical farming that has been developed is to grow plants in stacked trays that move on rails. Moving the trays allows the plants to get equal access to sunlight. This system is already in operation, and works well within a single-storey greenhouse with light reaching it from above: it is not certain, however, that it can be made to work without that overhead natural light.
EVertical farming is an attempt to address the undoubted problems that we face in producing food for a growing population. At the moment, though, more needs to be done to reduce the detrimental impact it would have on the environment, particularly as regards the use of energy. While it is possible that much of our food will be grown in skyscrapers in future, most experts currently believe it is far more likely that we will simply use the space available on urban rooftops.
Complete the notes below. Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
• Current situation: 80% of cultivable land is already in use; 15% has been damaged by .
• Vertical farming uses multi-storey buildings in urban centres.
Advantages:
• Year-round production under controlled conditions with no crop loss from weather or .
• Natural methods remove the need for chemicals like fertilizers, herbicides, or .
• Less risk of infectious diseases contracted at the .
• Generates energy through from plant waste.
• Reduces emissions by cutting out transport such as tractors and .
Drawback:
• Plants need , which requires large amounts of energy unless renewable sources are available.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? Write TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN.
8. Methods for predicting the Earth's population have recently changed.
9. Human beings are already using most of the available land suitable for agriculture.
10. Vertical farming could produce a wide variety of vegetables that are not currently grown indoors.
11. Vertical farming will make plants less likely to be affected by infectious diseases.
12. Light reaches plants more evenly when they are placed on moving trays.
13. Most experts think that vertical farming will soon be used on a large scale in cities.