Food and Drink International - Winter 2016 Volume 1 - 18
vertical farming >> The vertical farming industry is developing a new food culture for tomorrow as it continues to push boundaries. community canning or preservation centers. People could take their produce and preserve it for the winter. All those things would have a bigger impact than growing one type of leafy green." The problem with preserving food is that it's no longer fresh and loses its nutrients. "Most [veggies] are packaged within a day or two of harvesting so a lot of the good stuff stays in," according to Le Cordon Bleu. "Of course there are some drawbacks. Research shows that some vitamin B and essential nutrients are lost in the [canning] process and typically 18 has a much higher sodium level than fresh veggies." Overcoming Challenges Two big challenges in urban farming today are securing financing and educating cities on ways to nurture urban agriculture in their communities, Herbert says. She explains that without funding, growth in urban farming won't continue. "You have private equity firms, PRI [principles for responsible investment] investors, lenders and traditional bank lenders - all these people with money - and no one wants food & drink international * winter 2016 volume 1 * www.fooddrink-magazine.com to invest in agriculture," she says. "Companies like BrightFarms and Gotham Greens got early funding, demonstrated success and now see $30 million to $50 million in Series B financing to refine their operations and expand. What we need to see is more of that." Although financing is said to be a challenge in the industry, the AgTech Investing Report for 2015 shows investment in food and agriculture startups reached $4.6 billion last year, doubling the 2014 figure of $2.36 billion. In regards to educating city government, controlled-environment agriculture requirements for permitting, sewer, water and fire codes need to be understood and perhaps re-evaluated at the city level when it comes to indoor farming. Permitting is a typical issue the association works with cities to address, Blume says. "The city might not have permitting in place and codes are often not up to speed," he adds. "At the association we try to think ahead and move the industry forward in terms of education, policy, standardization and sustainability. City permitting and building codes is an area where there needs to be improvement." On the other hand, Philadelphia has been "phenomenal" with Metropolis Farms' business plan, Griffin notes. "They realize what's at stake here is a new city for industries," he adds. "Ultimately, what we are working towards is food independence and a much stronger economy as a result. I built a vertical, indoor farm and showed people what we are doing."
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