Urban Farming Could Be Humanity’s Best Hope To Solve Deforestation And World Hunger
Urban Farming Could Be Humanity’s Best Hope To Solve Deforestation And World Hunger
Urban Farming.U.S. Department of Agriculture/Flickr
Thursday, January 18, 2018
World hunger and global deforestation are two of the biggest problems assaulting humanity right now. Sure, there’s also climate change, but it can almost be considered an umbrella under which all of the global threats from nature is stemming from. There are already proposed steps to combat climate change, but in the case of deforestation and world hunger, Urban Farming could be humanity’s best hope.
According to a recent study published in the Scientific Reports, over half of Europe’s forests have been destroyed due to farming or urban development. Granted, this occurred over the last 6,000 years, but the result is still telling.
These findings mimic the widespread loss of forests, jungles, rain forests, and even coastal trees all over the globe. While there’s very little that the average person can do to address these bigger concerns, there is a solution that is within the reach of everyday people in the form of Urban Farming.
Urban Farming is basically where farmers would grow vegetables, crops, fruits, or berries within the city limits instead of through traditional farmlands. As Futurism notes, this practice essentially puts the food near the consumers who will be buying or eating them and also achieves production levels that are almost comparable to more conventional methods.
The trend of putting food production inside cities, suburbs, or even warehouse areas also addresses the escalating need for more agricultural land. This is due to the many forms that Urban Farming can take, from the simplest home gardens to the most complex three-dimensional industries that are finding their way into major U.S. metropolises.
Starting an Urban Farm is easy, as well, thanks to equipment and methods being within easy reach. As the president of the company Urban Organics, Dave Haider told the publication, there’s a huge potential in Urban Farming.
“You have to look at these facilities in cubic feet as opposed to square feet. We can really put out a lot of produce from a facility like this,” Haider said, referring to one of his vertical farms.