Yeah the prices thing is more a cipher for the inputs which would still be a concern under a workers polity. Vertical farming can reduce water and other inputs, but you have to invest in climate control and lighting, which aren’t going to be cheap anywhere conditions are too fucked to support outdoor agriculture. I could see them filling a niche but I wouldn’t want to make them the backbone of the world food system unless people got really, really smart about building and operating them.
Energy efficiency is just as key for adapting to climate change as reducing other inputs. Also, operating a capital intensive vertical farm in a given location will be just as reliant on robust and cheap transportation as carting in food – equipment and HVAC systems break down and need replacements and repairs. I’m not sure it’s as robust a solution as vertical farm operators are trying to make them out to be.
Yeah the prices thing is more a cipher for the inputs which would still be a concern under a workers polity. Vertical farming can reduce water and other inputs, but you have to invest in climate control and lighting, which aren’t going to be cheap anywhere conditions are too fucked to support outdoor agriculture. I could see them filling a niche but I wouldn’t want to make them the backbone of the world food system unless people got really, really smart about building and operating them.
Energy efficiency is just as key for adapting to climate change as reducing other inputs. Also, operating a capital intensive vertical farm in a given location will be just as reliant on robust and cheap transportation as carting in food – equipment and HVAC systems break down and need replacements and repairs. I’m not sure it’s as robust a solution as vertical farm operators are trying to make them out to be.