The Vertical Farm

Feeding the World in the 21st Century

by Dickson Despommier

Praise for The Vertical Farm

“Nobody has ever dreamed as big as Dr. Dickson Despommier.”
—New York Magazine

“Despommier has quickly become the central figure in what could be a worldwide revolution in food production and waste reduction.”
—Scientific American

“Despommier’s…ingenious idea…could ultimately ease the world’s food, water, and energy crises.”
—The Huffington Post

About the Book

Imagine a world where every town has its own local food source, grown in the safest way possible, where no drop of water or particle of light is wasted, and where a simple elevator ride can transport you to nature’s grocery store – imagine the world of the vertical farm.

When Columbia professor Dickson Despommier set out to solve America’s food, water, and energy crises, he didn’t just think big – he thought up. Despommier’s stroke of genius, the vertical farm, has excited scientists, architects, and politicians around the globe. These farms, grown inside skyscrapers, would prevent many of the serious problems we currently face, including:

  • Viability in areas currently without arable land
  • Allowing year-round crop production.
  • Immunity to weather-related crop failure
  • Re-use of water collected by de-humidification of the indoor environment
  • Recycling of energy derived from the inedible parts of the harvest
  • New employment opportunities
  • No use of pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides
  • Drastically reduced dependence on fossil fuels
  • No crop loss due to shipping or storage
  • No agricultural run-off
  • Many more

Vertical farms can be located on abandoned city properties, creating new urban revenue streams. They will employ lots of skilled and unskilled labor. They can be run on wind, solar, tidal, and geothermal energy. They can be used to grow plants for pharmaceutical purposes or for converting gray water back into drinking water.

In the tradition of the bestselling The World Without Us, The Vertical Farm is a totally original landmark work destined to become an instant classic. With stunning illustrations and clear and entertaining writing, this book will appeal to anyone concerned about America’s future.

About the Author

Dr. Dickson Despommier spent twenty years as a professor of public health in environmental health sciences at Columbia, where he has won the Best Teacher award six times. His work on vertical farms has been featured on such top national media as CNN, “The Colbert Report,” and “The Tonight Show,” as well as in full-length articles in The New York TimesTIME MagazineScientific American, and The Washington Post. He recently spoke at the TED Conference, PopTech and the World Science Festival and has been invited by the governments of India, Mexico, Jordan, Brazil, and Korea to work on environmental problems. He has spoken to audiences at many universities, including Harvard and MIT. Despommier lives in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

The Vertical Farm by Dr. Dickson Despommier

Picador