Devender Reddy Mada FALL 2014 4th February 2014 Keywords: Vertical farms, Green spirit Farms, LEDs Article Review References: Paul Marks. (2014, January 16th). Vertical Farms Sprouting all over the World, NewScientist. Retrieved from: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129524.100-vertical-farms-sprouting-all-over-the-world.html#.UvFKZ9wwrIU Summary: In authors opinion urban warehouse, derelict buildings and high-rises are the last places we would expect to find the seeds of a green revolution. Vertical farms are promising a new, environmentally friendly way to feed the rapidly increasing populations of cities worldwide. Green Spirit Farms (GFS) of New Buffalo, Michigan is the world’s largest vertical farm is ready to open up shop in Scranton. It is a single storey covering 3.25 hectares, but with racks stacked six high it will house 17 million plants. And it is just one of a growing number. A vertical farm enables to grow food year round in high rise urban buildings, reducing the need for the carbon emitting transport of fruit and vegetables. Vertical farming will reduce water consumption; plants in vertical farming can be fed by soil-free hydroponic systems and lit by LEDs that mimic sunlight. We can control supply of nutrients like light and water by using control software. By using this software a farmer can monitor the whole apparatus from a smart phone. This will increase the number of crops per year. United Nations predicts that 86% of developed world’s people will live in urban areas by 2050. vertical farming can make food supplies more secure because it can continue producing even during extreme weather conditions. And they don’t need to use insecticides as long as the farmers are careful to protect their indoor fields. Most vertical farms relay on natural sunlight as much as possible. In sunny, near equatorial places like Singapore, Sky Green vertical farms do not depend on artificial light emitted by LEDs. Instead they use low power elevators to rotate mobile racks of Chinese cabbage and lettuce to the sunnier heights of the building. Conversely in places where sunlight is absent we can use LEDs. For instance in Japan, Kyoto-based Nuvege runs a window less indoor farm where LED light is tuned to two types of chlorophyll one is red and another blue. Tuned to these spectra they can grow a plant even in the absence of natural sun light. In such case electricity will increase the production cost but recent development of LEDs which are 68 percent efficient will reduce the cost. Vertical farming is a very good solution for countries like Japan (which is radioactive), Africa (where major part of its land is desert) and Arab countries to produce food. Critique: Vertical Farming is the best solution for the increasing population and pollution. But in Countries like India, Brazil and china, where its economy is build on Agriculture, would lose their economy and will lead to poverty and unemployment of agricultural labor.