Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
It is a simple fact that everyone needs to eat. However, we live in a world of limited resources. We already face an unequal spread of our food resources. Some people have plenty of food to eat, and other people do not.
Voice 2
Right now the Earth is home to about six billion [6,000,000,000] people. And, that number will grow over the coming years. Many people are concerned that, in the next fifty [50] years, we will not have enough food for everyone. Many more people may have to go without food.
Voice 1
This concern is especially true for people living in cities. Cities only cover about two percent of the Earth’s surface. But, cities use about seventy-five [75] percent of the Earth’s resources, including food. That is because more than half of the Earth’s population lives in or near a city. And experts believe that number will rise to eighty [80] percent within the next fifty [50] years. So providing food for these fast-growing cities may become difficult in the future.
Voice 2
That is why many experts are working to solve the food problem today! One idea is to build vertical farms in cities. Instead of expanding across land, these farms would be in buildings. And they would expand up! Today’s Spotlight is on vertical farms.
Voice 1
Imagine standing in the middle of a city. There are tall buildings all around you. But one building is different. It is made mainly of glass. This building has twenty-one [21] levels. Through the glass you can see plants. On each level there are many different kinds of plants. This is a special building for growing food. It is a vertical farm.
Voice 2
The vertical farm idea started with Doctor Dickson Despommier. He is a professor of public health and microbiology. He believes that vertical farms are good for several different reasons. The first reason is space. Vertical farms save space.
Voice 1
Doctor Despommier claims that each square kilometer produces more in a vertical farm. He says that one square kilometer in a vertical farm can grow the same amount of food as four to six square kilometers outside. Farmers usually grow their crops on the ground - spread over a large area. But vertical farms grow their crops stacked. They are on many different levels, one on top of the other. This saves a lot of space. Dr. Despommier hopes that this space could be used for other things. For example, he hopes that people will plant new trees.
Voice 2
Second, in vertical farms, crops can grow all year long. The weather inside the buildings would be controlled. Weather is important for farms. Bad weather can destroy crops. In a vertical farm, farmers would not have to worry about bad weather, drought, or natural disasters.
Voice 1
Also, many farmers must worry about insects destroying their crops. So, they often use harmful chemicals to kill the insects. But, these chemicals can sink into the ground. They can reach our drinking water and poison it. But, vertical farms are closed to insects. So, farmers would use fewer chemicals. In fact, all of the food grown in vertical farms could be completely organic. It could be free of chemicals and disease.
Voice 2
Third, vertical farms will operate within a closed system. That means that the food is grown, transported and eaten within the same city. People living in cities often have to buy food that has travelled a great distance. That is because the food was grown outside of the city. Food travels by truck, by train and by plane to reach big cities. All of this travel produces a lot of air pollution and waste. Vertical farms will help the environment by reducing this pollution and waste.
Voice 1
Vertical farms will help the environment in other ways too. This is the fourth reason why vertical farms are a good idea. Vertical farms will use technology to reduce waste in energy use. For example, vertical farms will use solar panels on the sides of the buildings. This technology uses energy from the sun. The solar energy will help to grow the crops. In this way, vertical farms will not use much electricity.
Voice 2
Vertical farms will also recycle and reuse water. Normal farms require large amounts of water for growth. But most of the water is lost into the ground. It cannot be reused. But vertical farms can use technology to recycle any extra water. Farmers can use the water again and again.
Voice 1
Finally, vertical farms will help the environment by saving and using methane gas. Plants produce methane gas. This gas is partly responsible for global warming. It has a harmful effect on our atmosphere. But a vertical farm can contain the gas that its plants produce. Therefore, no methane gas will escape into the atmosphere. Instead, vertical farms will collect the gas. They can store it as energy. And they can use it later.
Voice 2
While it is true that vertical farms will save space and save the environment, they may also save economies too. This is the fifth reason Doctor Despommier believes that vertical farms are a good idea. Vertical farms will provide many jobs for many people living in cities. And because vertical farms will serve local people, local economies will improve as well. The money used to buy food will stay in the community.
Voice 1
There is one last reason why Doctor Despommier believes that vertical farms are a good idea. And that reason is food! Vertical farms can produce a lot food and feed a lot of people. Doctor Despommier believes that only one hundred fifty [150] vertical farms could feed all of New York City. That is more than eight million [8,000,000] people!
Voice 2
And vertical farms will produce nothing but nutritious natural food, food that is good for healthy bodies.
Voice 1
Our world could face some serious problems in the future. One of them is a lack of food. It is important to think seriously about solving these problems today. Vertical farms are just one idea. But the world needs many more ideas to solve these problems! What do you think of vertical farms? Would they work where you live?
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