Position papers aim to convince readers to accept claims on debatable research issues. In this sustainability position paper, I aim to convince New York State municipalities on how allocating funding to my sustainability focus, indoor urban farming, is best for New York City.
No Space? No Problem. Indoor Urban Farming’s Got You Covered!
Food deserts refer to areas where residents have limited access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly fresh fruits, vegetables, and other non-processed foods. This issue arises due to various socioeconomic and geopolitical factors, and it has significant implications for public health, food security, and health disparities. In many large urban cities, the low income neighborhoods have inaccessible supermarkets or a scarcity of full-service grocery stores that would offer diverse selections of fresh and healthy foods. Instead, residents must rely on convenience stores or fast-food outlets that predominantly offer processed and high-calorie foods lacking in nutritional value, which can further put a community at risk for health issues such as heart problems and obesity. Additionally, major cities have large carbon footprints by using lots of energy to move healthy produce in supermarkets due to the need to ship produce from one area to another. Sustainable indoor urban farming, specifically through hydroponic farming, offers a solution to this problem as it allows growing plants through water-based nutrient solutions instead of soil. Thus building high tech greenhouses in cities provides the market with a supply of nutritious and long-lasting produce. Plants are able to grow without soil, but in ample conditions including receiving heat, irrigation systems, and management of all the proper nutrients all year-round. Despite its costly nature and maintenance, New York State municipalities need to implement indoor urban farming as a sustainable solution to tackle the cities’ carbon footprint, through solving food deserts in lower-income neighborhoods, efficient land use, and improving the health and wellbeing of community members.
Hydroponic farming is a sustainable solution through efficient land and resource use since it uses water more efficiently compared to traditional soil-based agriculture. In hydroponic systems, water is reused, decreasing the amount of waste produced in conventional irrigation methods (One Small Step, 2019). This water efficiency is significant in regions facing droughts and water shortages, since every drop of water counts. In addition, hydroponic systems send nutrients directly to plant roots in a controlled environment which reduces the risk of soil degradation and pollution of water. In hydroponic systems, land is used more efficiently because alternative methods of attaining produce is where major cities usually have their food shipped to them through long-distance, often overseas travel which uses lots of energy and causes carbon emissions. In fact, according to the hydroponic farm business, Gotham Greens, hydroponic farming produces 35 times the yield of traditional farms while using 97% less land (One Small Step, 2019). Indoor urban farming allows cities to grow produce internally, build farms on land and thus have produce closer to consumers. Additionally, in organizations like Harlem Grown, empty land spaces are converted to greenhouses for hydroponic farming (New York State, 2019). Indoor urban farming allows the production of plants with less land, less water, less pollution and no pesticides, which makes it not only an environmentally-conscious choice for agriculture, but also an efficient one.
Hydroponic systems allow for higher crop yields per unit area compared to traditional soil-based farming. By providing plants with precisely controlled amounts of water, nutrients, and oxygen, hydroponics optimizes plant growth and development, leading to faster growth rates and increased productivity (One Small Step, 2019). Furthermore, the vertical farming techniques often employed in hydroponics maximize space utilization by stacking multiple growing layers vertically (Eden Green, 2023). This vertical integration not only maximizes land use efficiency but also opens up possibilities for urban farming in densely populated areas where space is limited, contributing to food security and localized food production.Thus, indoor urban farming solves the problem of lack of land and water resources that many cities face from conventional farming methods.
Another advantage of sustainable indoor urban farming is that it supports economic development because agricultural farming contributes to employment, markets, and a healthier workforce. Hydroponic farming produces year-round availability of crops regardless of weather and seasonal changes (One Small Step, 2019). Since hydroponic farms are indoors and in greenhouses, they have optimized agricultural conditions, and hydroponic farmers can avoid the limitations imposed by the external climate. Having consistent produce throughout the year supports city demands for fresh food even during winters when traditional outdoor farms can face challenges such as droughts, snow, or extreme temperatures (The Guardian, 2019). Greenhouse farmers have the option to diversify crop selection since there are no seasonal restrictions.Moreover, sustainable indoor farming promotes corporate sustainability because it allows supermarkets and businesses to utilize plants through safe measures for agriculture and the environment, instead of harming it for consumerism. Sustainable indoor urban farming is beneficial to society and businesses because people are getting access to nutritious healthy food and businesses have a sustainable means of production.
Sustainable indoor farming helps social equity because it values aiding local communities with accessible and healthy food options. Hydroponic farming, seen in Gotham Greens, creates jobs for local residents and partners with local schools and nonprofits to put better food on their table through education and community initiatives and thus they are aiding the smaller neighborhoods in need (One Small Step, 2019). Usually, plants and food are sent through large scale travel which takes lots of energy, however through indoor farming, farms are more close to cities that rely on the food. Greenhouses are built next to large urban populations and thus the food can support individuals by having farms closer to them. Indoor urban farming also decreases the amount of food waste because the decreased time in overseas travel allows food to arrive to markets sooner and hold a longer shelf-life (One Small Step, 2019). Indoor urban farming tackles the issue of food deserts because lower-income communities that previously had faced unreachable supermarkets and healthy food options, can now have accessible, nutritious produce from hydroponic farms.
Government officials may argue that implementing indoor urban farming requires excessive costs and high maintenance. Hydroponic farming is an expensive farming choice because of how it requires more technology and people to look after greenhouses to manage plants on water-based nutrients than the traditional soil route. For example, the success of green roofs, ecosystems and gardens built, are dependent on the intensity and care in the systems investment, installation, and structural requirements (Hawken, 2017). However, while hydroponic farming is costly and requires more effort than the alternative soil farming, it saves money in the long run, to prevent the financial burdens associated with the increasing effects of climate change (The Guardian, 2019). Referring back to the previous example, green roofs may be expensive for installation, however the vegetation works as living insulation to moderate building temperatures year-round and filter air pollutants, lowering greenhouse emissions and the building’s energy costs. In fact, on a floor below a green roof the energy use for cooling can drop by 50 percent (Hawken, 2017). Without hydroponic farms, major cities can continue to ship produce and goods overseas, contributing to climate change and carbon emissions. In 2018, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that in 2018, climate change contributed to 247 deaths and 91 billion dollars in damages (The Guardian, 2019). Thus, while sustainable indoor urban farming requires maintenance and high costs, the long-term effects can save money and reduce the costs of impending climate change.
Furthermore, the benefits of sustainable urban farming outweigh the costly nature and maintenance since urban farming acts as a sustainable solution to tackle big cities’ carbon footprint, through resolving food deserts for lower-income neighborhoods, efficient resource use, reducing the risk of climate change, and improving the health and wellbeing of community members. The benefits of hydroponic farming includes efficient resource use by utilizing reused water instead of soil to grow plants and it has efficient land use by using less land for more produce. Hydroponic farming supports economic development because it is able to produce plants and vegetation in the off-seasons allowing the manufacturing of produce all-year round. Hydroponic farming also supports low income communities because it provides accessible healthy produce options for those living in food deserts. Implementing sustainable urban farming needs to be prioritized to support agricultural growth and promote the wellbeing of communities to ultimately reduce the impacts of global climate change.
References:
Dujardin, F. (2022, July 3). Food Greenhouse in Belgium [Photograph].ArchDaily. https://www.archdaily.com/984274/why-urban-farms-and-indoor-planting-are-the-future
Governor Hochul Announces Indoor Food Production System to Advance Urban Farming in Harlem| Governor Kathy Hochul. (2022, November 16). New York State. https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-indoor-food-production-systemDvance-urban-farming-harlem
Hawken, P. (2017). Drawdown: The most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming. Penguin Books.
Meet Viraj Puri, Ceo And Co-Founder Of Gotham Greens. (2019, November 23). One Small Step. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su8raXcuzTo
Vertical farming: Everything you need to know. (2023, January 9) Eden Green. https://www.edengreen.com/blog-collection/what-is-vertical-farming
Zorn, J. T., Beachy, B., & Gunn-Wright, R. (2019, February 25). A Green New Deal is fiscally responsible. Climate inaction is not. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/25/green-new-aoc-deal-fiscally-responsible-climate-inaction
