Farthing is moving indoors, where the sun never shines, where rain never falls and where the weather is always proper. The perfect crop field could be inside a windowless building with controlled light, temperature, wetness, air quality and nutrition. It could be in a building in New York or in a desert in Sahara.
The world is already having trouble feeding itself. Half the people on Earth live in cities, and nearly half of those are hungry or ill-fed. Food prices arebuffetedby, floods and the cost of energy required to plant, harvest and transport it. And prices will only get more changeable. Farmers in many parts of the world already are using water available to the last drop. And the world is getting more crowded by mid-century, the world's population will grow front 6. 8 billion to 9 billion.
To feed so many people may require more farmland , as a result , forests and wilderness (荒地) are becoming fewer and fewer.
Gertjan Meeuws has taken the idea of a greenhouse a step further, growing vegetables and houseplants in enclosed (封闭的) environments. In their research station, water flows into the fields when needed, and the temperature is kept the same. Lights go on and off, creating similar day and night, but according to the needs of the plants.
A building of 100 square meters and 14 layers (层) of plants could provide a daily diet of 200 grams of fresh fruit and vegetables to the entire population of Den Bosch, about 140,000 people. Their idea isn't to grow foods that require much space, like corn or potatoes. Here sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful. Plants need only specific (特定地) light to grow. Their growth speed is three times faster than under greenhouse conditions. They use about 90 percent less water than outdoor agriculture. And city farming means producing food near the citizens, and there's no need to transport it long distances.
