1 Introduction

Food is essential for the survival of all living things; everything requires nutrition to grow, mature
and evolve. This need is strongly juxtaposed by a food system that, albeit producing enough food
to feed the world, lets close to one billion people starve (FAO, 2017a:5; Holt-Giménez et al.,
2012:5). Despite the increases in knowledge and technological advances that food systems have
experienced in the past, the number of undernourished people reached a staggering eight
hundred and fifteen million in 2016 (FAO et al., 2017:2-11). Estimates from the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) indicate that both the global prevalence of
undernourishment (PoU1) and severe food insecurity are on the rise. The most recent PoU
estimates stand at eleven percent, which depicts an increase in undernourishment since 2015
(FAO et al., 2017:5), and according to the FAO’s food insecurity experience scale (FIES), nearly one
in ten people in the world, or 9.3 percent, suffer from severe food insecurity (FAO et al., 2017:11).

While these numbers might depict a simple distribution problem, global food systems are full of
complexity: even though they have led to certain improvements and benefits, such as increased
yields (UNEP, 2014:11-13), long term storage of food products, decreased production costs, and
year round availability of certain goods, food systems are characterized by a number of troubling
elements present in both upstream aspects (production) and downstream phenomena (effects).
Downstream phenomena, or agricultural effects on the environment, are the most noticed and
visible of the pair. Of the fifteen billion hectares of land available worldwide, agriculture already
utilizes more than thirty percent of it (UNEP, 2014:9). Since 1961, cropland conversion, a process
that releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) into the environment (UNEP,
2014:10-11), has increased an estimated eleven percent (UNEP, 2014:9). This has highly affected
and contributed to biodiversity loss, climate change, and deforestation, which has occurred on
average at a rate of thirteen mega hectares (Mha) per year (UNEP, 2014:10-11). Industrial
agriculture has also contributed to land degradation2, and its heavy use of synthetic fertilizers,
which are major culprits of nutrient pollution that cause eutrophication of water bodies, further
contributes to GHG emissions (UNEP, 2014:10-11).

More relevant to this study however, are food systems’ upstream aspects: agricultural inputs and
the way food is produced are crucial to food system sustainability (Garnett, 2014). Dependence on
fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources, such as fertilizers and pesticides, due to their
relative inexpensiveness has facilitated intensification of production and ‘increased yields’ (Cloke
et al. 2006:219). The application of nonrenewables compensates for agriculture’s interruptions to
natural cycles (i.e. monoculture, spatial homogeneity, decline of biodiversity, etc.), resulting in
increased productivity on the same amount of farming space. This dependence not only results in
various kinds of pollution detrimental to the environment (Ericksen, 2008:234-245), it also signals
instability from a production perspective; even water qualifies as nonrenewable in cases where its
extraction rates exceed rates of replenishment (Taylor, 2014:179). This diminishing access to key
resources (e.g. fossil fuels, fertilizers, water) in agricultural production reveals a system that is
opportunistic and unsustainable in the long-term: as Cloke et al. (2006:219) explain, the systems’
lack of sustainability is masked and compensated for by nonrenewables. When combined, these
issues will make it tougher
1.2 thesis

The main objective of this study is to determine the sustainability of a vertical farm operation,
using a holistic systems approach in order to critically reflect on vertical farming’s perceived value
to future food security and agro-urban systems. Such an objective calls for an analytical method
that acknowledges resource limits, can handle interactions on all biospheric levels, and addresses
sustainability and equity aspects of development in their entirety (c.f. Alarcón et al 2008; see
Bergquist, 2010:254). This study, therefore, aims to assess vertical farming food production
utilizing emergy concepts and synthesis as a method of environmental accounting. Emergy can be
considered the energy memory of something, and is a measure of past and present, direct and
indirect inputs that create or maintain a product or service (Odum, 1996). Further explanation of
these terms and concepts is presented more in depth in chapter 3.1 (Systems theory).

The following research questions guide this study in order to fulfill the aim:

From an emergy perspective, how sustainable is vertical farming?

How does this type of food production contribute to the urban environment?

The next section attempts to provide the reader with a clear overview of this study.

2. SITUATION AND CONSEQUENCES:

2.1. Food production is an enormous waste of energy

A) global overpopulation

- has brought serious constraints to crop growth due to impending climate change.

- The accelerated growth of an increasingly food-demanding population requires the adoption of

new technologies that maximize sustainable production practices with the planet.

2.2 has many care specifications

b) In addition, the AUP concentrates a series of practices that must be adjusted to the urban
environment, such as:

-Adequate water management.

-Adequate land use.

-Sustainable energy systems.

-Equitable distribution of labor.

2.3 it's a win-lose situation

c) Threatens the survival of small businesses

- To implement such a project, investors are needed

- creates a dependency on large corporations.

 - jobs are lost due to automated systems.

3. causes

A) global overpopulation

3.1 there is a slight world overpopulation, which sometimes means that there is not enough food
for all the people.

- even though it is a little more affordable, it does not go a long way towards helping the planet
as intended, it helps the owner but it is also very expensive to maintain.

b) In addition, the AUP concentrates a series of practices that must be adjusted to the urban
environment, such as:

3.2 not all people know how to give it the correct care and attention it needs, it has many factors

- is based on food production within city limits such as backyards, terraces, community gardens and
in unused public spaces; activities that are carried out on a small scale in the city, require a lot of
expense and care.

c) Threatens the survival of small businesses

3.3 in the short term it does not leave a lot of money, it requires a large sum of money to have a
good place and excellent care

- it comes to require solar panels, wind turbines, many glass panels, planting, maintenance,
irrigation, fertilization and temperature control.

4 SOLUTIONS

4.1 study very well how these farms work

- a preliminary study has to be made on the operation, how to make it stand out, how to help,
basics and care instructions prior to the work.

4.2 space

- have your own space, preferably large enough to be able to install the equipment and the
necessary plants to work, you have to remember that it requires a lot of water, a lot of electricity
and a large planting space.
 4.3 distribute equipment for financing and care

- it could also be recommended that in order to make these grengae it could be gathered in teams
or partners to pay for the necessary expenses and care, so that it is not heavy or laborious.
 Conclusión

In general, it should be noted that the concept of vertical farming is still relatively unproven and
that some startups are struggling with competitiveness. Since acquisition costs are very high and
there is generally little government support, it takes a long time to make a profit. In addition,
products from conventional agriculture tend to be cheaper.

However, the concept has developed enormously in recent years and awareness of ecological
management is growing steadily. Due to climate change, farming is already more difficult in some
countries, and therefore new solutions are required. Vertical farming can offer these solutions
because it needs almost no resources other than electricity. However, it is important that the
energy required comes from renewable energy sources. Then, fruits and vegetables can be grown
sustainably and with almost no pesticides or emissions, without having to sacrifice large
production areas.

But how sustainable are vertical farms really? On the one hand, there are arguments against
conventional agriculture: it is responsible for one third of our global CO2 emissions, pollutes water
with fertilizers and pesticides, and promotes natural disasters because large areas are cleared.

Conventional agriculture is also partly responsible for reduced biodiversity and species extinction.
It also favors long transportation routes. Vertical farms work better on all these points.

On the other hand, there is an argument in favor of traditional farming: how important, for
example, soil microorganisms are for human gut health. This soil is missing in vertical farms,
instead, microorganisms and nutrients from irrigation must be artificially buried. This does not
necessarily respond to understanding, or even raise fears.

The number of LED lamps, which not only consume energy day and night, but also have to be
manufactured and disposed of, is also questioned: a relevant contribution to the ecological
footprint of vertical farms. In addition, many jobs could be lost if farming becomes more "vertical"
and therefore more efficient.

For others, something as industrial as a vertical farm, which is supposed to offer something as
natural as parsley, simply does not inspire confidence. Are these still "normal" fruits and
vegetables?

Even the cultivated soils are not exactly full of naturalness: they must also be fertilized and
sprayed with pesticides.