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Profits from Eco-friendly Vertical Farming Stack Up

By Ramon Taylor for VOA News

May 19, 2016

Vertical farming is a new type of farming. It means stacking plants indoors, floor-to-ceiling, using controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) methods. Vertical farming is becoming very popular. It is changing the business of traditional supply chains and growing seasons.

vertical farming.jpg

"Lettuce growing in an indoor vertical farming system" by Valcenteu via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY SA

It is also having a profound effect on the environment.

AeroFarms is based in Newark, New Jersey. They set up shop in an old, neon-sprayed paintball and laser tag arena next to a highway. Their warehouse is the size of a Walmart Supercenter. Within this warehouse, they only grow leafy greens and herbs — more than 250 varieties. The aisles at AeroFarms are tall. They are accessible only by forklift crane (a machine for moving heavy things in difficult places). The shelves in these aisles are growing labs that use patented LED lights, aeroponic mist, and reusable cloth.

To enter, farmers must wear gloves, a lab coat, and a hairnet. Their shoes must be disinfected.

AeroFarms is now the commercial leader in indoor farming. The indoor farming market will likely quadruple over the next five years to almost $4 billion.

David Roseberg is the co-founder and CEO of AeroFarms. He says the decision to focus on leafy greens was not based on any technological limitations. It was a business decision.

“These are relatively high price-per-pound items, so it absorbs some of the price premiums with the new technology,” Rosenberg said.

95% water reduction, zero pesticides

AeroFarms’ output is the same throughout the year. It is also good for the environment. Vertical farming reduces soil erosion, pesticides, water overuse, and carbon emissions. In some cases, it removes these completely. The result is a net win for AeroFarms and the Earth.

“We could grow seed using 95 percent less water. In about 16 days our output per square foot is approximately 80 times per square foot over a field farmer. We also grow using about 50 percent less fertilizers and zero pesticides, herbicides, fungicides,” Rosenberg said. “We could do this whether it is in the Sahara or a city like Newark.”

Marc Oshima is AeroFarms' co-founder and chief marketing officer. He says that with indoor farms already in development on four continents, the company’s goals are to increase its production efficiency. They want to scale operations worldwide near major distribution channels.

“We look at every single major urban environment as an opportunity,” Oshima said. “We look at things like urban density. We think about population. We think about people who are eating leafy greens.”

They also try to use plants that are specific to their audience.

“We think about amaranth, one of the most popular greens in Africa and Southeast Asia. We think about how we can really bring and celebrate different types of varieties and different types of greens that are going to be specific to those regions.”

Baby watercress, specialty kale

The farms also work as tasting labs. AeroFarms also produces packaged varieties of supermarket-available, ready-to-eat leafy greens. Its baby watercress is labeled as “bright and crisp with a slight sweetness and a healthy dose of spice". It also happens to be an AeroFarms office favorite.

Alina Zolotareva is a registered dietitian nutritionist and self-described foodie at AeroFarms. She says her objective, from a public health view, is to get people to eat more leafy greens like kale. Kale is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet. To achieve this, producing the perfect taste is essential.

“Americans especially don't eat enough vegetables. So, for me, the most exciting part is all of the different flavors that we have here,” Zolotareva said. “It makes eating your vegetables so much more exciting and so much more fun.”

The farm’s specialty kale, in her opinion, “melts in your mouth.”

a bowl of kale and greens

"Untitled Image" by pompi via Pixabay under Pixabay license

“A lot of people like the nutritional density of kale, but they don’t like the taste,” added Rosenberg. “So we can make a sweeter kale using the same seed, just stressing a plant to change the phytochemistry to get certain outcomes.”

6,500 square meters = 900,000-kilo harvest

Rosenberg says AeroFarms’ focus on leafy greens works toward a greater function. It is addressing a growing food shortage worldwide. He says consumers must change their focus from calorie intake to nutrition.

Recent studies by the World Bank predict an estimated global population of 9 billion in 2050. This will require at least 50 percent more food. To add to the crisis, climate change is projected to cut crop yields by more than 25 percent during that span. This would disproportionately affect the world’s poorest citizens.

AeroFarms plans to increase production significantly in the United States. It also plans to expand its global operations. Less than a kilometer from its 2,800-square-meter farm is the site of its new global headquarters. The new headquarters is a 6,500-square-meter former steel mill. It will be the largest indoor vertical farm worldwide based with a harvest rate of up to 900,000 kilos.