The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century

by Dickson Despommier

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Dickson Despommier. The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century.  NY: MacMillan 2010.  320 pp.  $25.99

Renowned Columbia University professor Dr. Dickson Despommier has the vision to change society as we know it. Lauded around the world, for developing the concept and championing the idea of vertical farming, Despommier now presents his revolutionary ideas in his new book, The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century.As we face the challenges of rapid population growth, climate change, and dwindling resources, it’s clear that we need to find alternative sources of food, water, and energy to meet the world’s ever growing demands for these necessities. Moving our agricultural systems into high-rise city buildings, says Despommier, would transform the way we grow fruit, vegetables, poultry, and fish, and alleviate many of the serious environmental problems we are currently facing.

Vertical farms will allow us to:

• Grow food 24 hours a day, 365 days a year 
• Protect crops from unpredictable and harmful weather
• Re-use water collected from the indoor environment
• Provide jobs for local residents
• Eliminate use of pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides
• Drastically reduce dependence on fossil fuels
• Prevent crop loss due to disease or pests
• Stop agricultural runoff

Despommier has been discussing the construction of the world’s first vertical farm with city and national governments around the world, and vertical farming projects have already been under consideration in some U.S. cities, including Newark, N.J and Chicago, Illinois.

In the tradition of the bestselling The World Without Us, Despommier’s The Vertical Farm is an important, original landmark work. With stunning illustrations and clear and entertaining writing, it is destined to become a classic.

The Vertical Farm was recently featured in the 40th anniversary issue of Smithsonian magazine. Despommier’s work is also featured at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum as part of the Why Design Now? exhibit.

Dr. Dickson Despommier spent thirty-eight years as a professor at Columbia University, where he won the Best Teacher Award six times and received the national 2003 American Medical Student Association Golden Apple Award for teaching. The author is a seasoned public speaker, having addressed professional audiences at leading universities throughout the world. He will be speaking at multiple upcoming engagements, including TEDx in Washington D.C. and TEDx in Chicago. Despommier is a veteran of appearances on The Colbert Report and The Discovery Channel. He recently spoke at the TED Conference, Pop!Tech, and the World Science Festival and has been invited by the governments of China, India, Mexico, Jordan, Canada, and Korea to work on environmental problems. He is one of the visionaries featured at the Chicago Museum of Science and Technology. Despommier lives in Fort Lee, NJ.

Book Review Source: http://www.verticalfarm.com/blog?108
See also YouTube discussion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1clRcxZS52s&feature=player_embedded

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