Sustainable Gardeners and Farmers
Sharing knowledge to sustain our food systems and communities
This group will create an open, global forum where growers can share practical knowledge with each other, pose questions and find answers. It is open to experts, amateurs and to beginners who look to enrich their lives by learning to grow food. It will also provide a space to share concerns about current food systems as well as sustainable approaches. I form ...learn more
GROUP DETAILS
Created: Dec 24, 2007
Updated: Nov 27, 2009
Membership: Open
Semi-Private
Topic: High Rise Farming...
Posts (1 - 4 of 4)
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Hi Dunk,
Is there a systematic analysis of the pros and cons of high rise farming? I ran into this idea several times now but haven't really seen a thorough analysis or many success stories yet.
Thanks, Bowo |
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Man, we're not likely to see it happening as yet, would be my guess, as there'll not be much profit in it; or we'd have seen it done already. And the idea of this system is not to bring in everyone else that is currently marginalised; that'll have to be the job of System X. The ideas on this site and elsewhere will hopefully create and craft that. So don't wait for concrete evidence in terms of "turning a profit", as you'll wait a long, long time. Instead, use the logic of one acre = 100 acres to beat down any over-croweded argument that you hear from the main stream media or your friends who have been "conditioned".
Think beyond, and get connected :) Peace, Dunk
http://www.realityinfo.org http://www.realityinfo.org/news http://www.wiserearth.org/group/realityinfo |
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High rise farming is a super "capitalist" (to use your term) approach to food production and it makes no sense at all. It is very capital intensive, requiring a huge amount of capital to build the buildings, produce all the aluminum and concrete and plastic required, to produce the energy to run the system, etc. The ecology of a high rise food system is completely nuts and anti-nature. The idea comes from the same mindset that says that technology is the answer to producing more food - much like employing GMO's, chemicals, and lots of energy, all organized by corporations with lots of capital. Of course, if the price of food gets to the point where we are spending 60 to 80% of our income on food, then high-rise food production might make sense, but you will need a very good security apparatus to keep the hungry rabble away from your techno-tower of eatin', which will be easier to defend that a conventional farm The reason that most people are hungry is that they are poor and/or disenfranchised by the social system they are in. There is plenty of food and land in the world to feed everyone. There are many good reports that document this - check out the article in the current Harper's titled LET THEM EAT CASH, the story of turning hunger into profit. Its interesting that you equate human beings with carrots. I never saw a carrot drive a car or post a note on a blog, or fall in love. |
“This world is too crowded”.
To make it accurate you’d have to say
“This world is too crowded for the capitalist way of production.”
Either way, the concept of “high rise” farming has been in my mind for years.
We know how to build buildings high!
We know how to pump water.
We know about mirrors to bend natural light.
We know about solar panels to capture natural light as energy.
We know about bulbs to produce artificial light.
We know about irrigation.
We know about harvesting.
Why not turn each acre into 100 acres by building upwards? We house humans in high rise buildings, so why not carrots? Or turnips? Or wheat? Or mushrooms?
The possibilities are endless, but right now they are constrained by the capitalist mode of production.
The next human based system is being conceived and the seeds of it are already planted in your mind and in mine.
Nourish them, and lets make this planet actually a welcoming place for humans to want to grow and live.
Peace,
Dunk