Underground Farms: The future of urban agriculture
Underground Farms: The future of urban agriculture
An alternative to traditional farms in the face of rising global temperatures
The Problem
Increases in global temperature are bound to cause increasing havoc in agriculture. As rainfall patterns change, as droughts and extreme storms increase, and as growing regions shift, both small-scale and industrial farmers will find that the crops and growing methods they’ve relied on for years may no longer be effective.
The Solution
A company called Growing Underground has converted an underground, World War II bomb shelter into a full-fledged farm. Growing Underground hopes to find enough success with this fledgling initiative to kickstart an underground farming revolution. There are a number of benefits to growing underground. First the weather and overall air temperature remains constant, thereby creating a predictable environment for growing crops. In addition, by situating the farms in the middle of metropolitan areas, the carbon footprint resulting from transporting the goods to market is minimized. Finally, underground farms allow for more dense urban centers, limiting sprawl, which is a contributor to climate change.
Stage of Development
scaling
Organization to Receive Funds
Underground Farms sees their work as the start of a revolution. They'd like their next underground farm to be 10x larger than their current one, but they need some financial backing to make it happen.
Find Out More
Discussion