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Agricultural Mixed-Use: Revolutionizing Farming

"Agricultural Mixed-Use: Revolutionizing Farming" is a Special Report Produced by The Washington Times Special Sections Department and Skyscraper Farm LLC.

Recent Stories

'The next evolution of farming has already begun'

The world population continues to grow with ever-increasing urbanization predicted to reach 80 percent by 2050. The U.N. predicts that human population will reach nearly 10 billion by 2050. This increasing population is also growing richer — and hungrier.

Dawn Thilmany, Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University

Vertical farming as a local food market innovation

Vertical farming is an emerging niche in the food supply chain, defined as the practice of growing food indoors by controlling all elements of its development.

Vertical farming: Bursting with promise -- but unknown costs

The production of food crops such as fresh greens (like lettuce and arugula) and herbs (such as basil) in vertical production facilities is part of a larger field of agriculture often referred to as controlled environment agriculture (CEA). In addition to production of these types of crops in vertical facilities, production also occurs in such facilities as greenhouses and plant factories inside of converted warehouses and shipping containers. The types of crops most commonly grown in CEA production include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, strawberries and fresh greens and herbs.

04/04/2016 - Boston, Mass. - 
 LinkedIn head shots for students attending Public Health and Nutrition Career Expo. (Matthew Healey for Tufts University)

Locally grown foods: Fresh, delicious and nutritious

In 2007, the New Oxford American Dictionary dubbed "locavore" the "2007 Word of the Year," adding the term to its pages and solidifying the local food movement as a piece of American culture. From a grassroots beginning to dictionary recognition to being spoofed on sketch comedies like "Portlandia" ("Ah [the chicken's] name was Colin. Here are his papers."), eating local is a trend that's here to stay.

Vertical farming and 'soft power'

Whatever one's religious belief, all can acknowledge that World War II was the closest humanity has come to unleashing what is symbolically known as The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: war, famine, pestilence and death.

A national security perspective on vertical farming

Since the very earliest wars, battlefield commanders have known that a successful strategy is to use food as a weapon. Vertical farming is a bold approach that will become a critical national asset — and will require protection.