Big Ideas
. 19/03/24
Are Vertical Farms the Future?

Could vertical farm shelves be the future of British agriculture?

With an estimated 50% of the population’s food grown on national soil this year, the UK’s food supply is more dependent than ever on undisrupted food chains abroad.

Luckily, vertical farm technology in Britain is offering a game-changing solution that could help strengthen the country’s agricultural autonomy and preserve the environment by:

  • Providing crops all year round and locally
  • Cutting away on the costs and emissions involved in transportation
  • Taking pressure away from overexploited farmlands
  • Emulating optimal weather conditions and nutritional inputs for fresh and healthy plants

Experts at The James Hutton Institute in Scotland initially found that using indoor, controlled farming methods for growing lettuce would emit more carbon than traditional open field methods.

BUT when paired with renewable energy – which accounts for up to 91% of the carbon footprint of vertical farming – it’s environmental credentials are  actually on a par with lettuce grown in an open-frielopen-field grown lettuce for its environmental cred.

Here’s the latest news on vertical farms in the UK:

Edinburgh-based Intelligent Growth Solutions are designing and manufacturing innovative growth towers.

Innovation Agritech Group is selling customers everything they need to start their own vertical farms.

Fischer Farms, an agritech firm, announced a 273-acre wheat yield in a ten-acre vertical farm in the UK.

SMARTKAS, a Dutch company launched the UK’s biggest vertical farm in Harlow, Essex.

Greenhous Farms are growing edible plants on a smaller-scale in a shipping container in Chiswick Business Park, London.

Zero Carbon Farms is growing greens in an old World War Two air raid shelter in London’s Clapham and already selling its peashoots, rocket and watercress to major UK retailers!

Jones Food Company has found ways to cut down on water consumption by optimising its water system so that each litre of water can be used up to 30 times.

We are excited about advancements in #VerticalFarming as a way to build climate resilience, while remembering that the existing food chain provides much-needed employment for many people. 

We hope that a hybrid relationship between vertical and traditional #agriculture will generate opportunities that are good for farmers and the environment.

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