Urban Hydro-Farming: Sustainable Solutions to Depleting Food Resources
Urban Hydro-Farming: Sustainable Solutions to Depleting Food Resources
Oscar I Hernandez
BUAD 610
March 1, 2012
Fresh water may soon become a costly commodity. The fundamental social problem of feeding society is growing larger due to a rising scarcity of water and an ongoing depletion of agricultural land. Population growth, climate changes, pollution, and agricultural water waste contribute to growing fresh water shortages around the world. Depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming techniques, floods, poor irrigation, and winds have seriously damaged agricultural land. Approximately 40% of the world’s agricultural ground is unsuitable for farming. The role of agricultural business desperately needs to align with the evolving ethos of a rapidly growing society. Can hydroponic farming provide a sustainable solution to environmental problems caused by traditional farming methods? What practical applications does hydroponics have in densely populated urban areas? Farmers describe soil degradation as thinning and unproductive land that leads to low yielding crops. Land degradation includes nutrient depletion, loss of biodiversity, climate change, erosion by water, erosion by wind, reduced vegetative cover, pollution, drought, compaction by animals or machinery, sedimentation, increased soil temperatures, reduced organic matter, and salinization (Stockings, 2000 pg 5). According to the United Nation’s food and agriculture program, 854 million people do not have sufficient food for an active and healthy life (Sample, 2007).
The population has increased by nearly 2 billion in the last 20 years and food production increased by 50%. It is estimated that by 2050 the population will reach 9 billion. (Sample, 2007). State and federal officials have drafted accords in attempts to rectify water shortages. UN officials have gathered to create and execute a plan of action to improve
Oscar I Hernandez
BUAD 610
March 1, 2012
Fresh water may soon become a costly commodity. The fundamental social problem of feeding society is growing larger due to a rising scarcity of water and an ongoing depletion of agricultural land. Population growth, climate changes, pollution, and agricultural water waste contribute to growing fresh water shortages around the world. Depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming techniques, floods, poor irrigation, and winds have seriously damaged agricultural land. Approximately 40% of the world’s agricultural ground is unsuitable for farming. The role of agricultural business desperately needs to align with the evolving ethos of a rapidly growing society. Can hydroponic farming provide a sustainable solution to environmental problems caused by traditional farming methods? What practical applications does hydroponics have in densely populated urban areas? Farmers describe soil degradation as thinning and unproductive land that leads to low yielding crops. Land degradation includes nutrient depletion, loss of biodiversity, climate change, erosion by water, erosion by wind, reduced vegetative cover, pollution, drought, compaction by animals or machinery, sedimentation, increased soil temperatures, reduced organic matter, and salinization (Stockings, 2000 pg 5). According to the United Nation’s food and agriculture program, 854 million people do not have sufficient food for an active and healthy life (Sample, 2007).
The population has increased by nearly 2 billion in the last 20 years and food production increased by 50%. It is estimated that by 2050 the population will reach 9 billion. (Sample, 2007). State and federal officials have drafted accords in attempts to rectify water shortages. UN officials have gathered to create and execute a plan of action to improve
References: Stockings, M., Niamh, M. (2000). Land Degradation. Guidelines for Field Assesment, 5, 59-67. Heilbriner, R., & Milberg W. (2008) The Making of Economic Society (12th Ed.). Sample, I (2007). Global food crisis looms as climate change and population growth strip fertile Land. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/31/climatechange.food. Buying Local Takes on New Meaning. (2011). Business & the Environment, 22(9), 1-4. New York Sun Works, Center For Sustainable Engineering. (2011).