Vertical farming—agriculture of the future

Vertical farming is the method of growing plants and crops over each other, mostly in buildings with many storeys. They often look like skyscrapers with glass around them, similar to a giant greenhouse. Such farming methods can already be seen in cities. For agriculture experts vertical farming will be in widespread use in the future because the world's population is growing constantly and there is more need for farming land.

Vertical farming offers many advantages. Not only can crops be grown on a smaller area of land,but water can be recycled and used over and over again. Plants grow on minerals and do not need soil. Many farming products can be harvested more than once per year.

With the new form of farming, many resources could be saved and forests could be preserved.Burning less fossil fuels would result in fewer emissions, a reduction of global warming and healthier environments. Vertical farming can protect crops from bad weather or disasters like hurricanes, storms,droughts or floods. The same weather conditions all year round provide ideal conditions for perfect crops.

On the other side, building such vertical farms can prove to be a costly undertaking. During the beginning of such a project a lot of energy is needed. Because plants require large amounts of sunlight, buildings need to be provided with artificial sunlight the whole year.But compared to traditional farms that take up a lot of space, vertical farming has a low carbon footprint. It can do without fossil fuels because it relies on energy from the sun.

Critics are not sure whether vertical farming projects can really be profitable in the long term.They claim that initial costs are too high and suggest that such farms actually need more light and power than normal regions. Heating and cooling costs would also be enormous. They also say that not all crops can be grown in this way. In my opinion, such farming methods could only be applied to lightweight produce, like small fruits, lettuce and other vegetables.

阅读检测

1. What's the purpose of building vertical farming?

A. To develop healthy plants and crops.

B. To satisfy the need of modern farming.

C. To make use of natural resources.

D. To meet the needs of increasing population.

2. What does paragraph 3 mainly talk about?

A. The benefits of vertical farming.

B. Different forms of vertical farming.

C. Ways to manage vertical farming.

D. Effects of the changes in farming.

3. How does the author describe vertical farming?

A. He believes it will be a trend.

B. He describes the case as it is.

C. He shows concerns about it.

D. He thinks highly of it.

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写作推荐

But compared to traditional farms that take up a lot of space, vertical farming has a low carbon footprint. 但和占地较多的传统农场相比，垂直农场的碳排放量较低。

【信息提取】句中compared to... 为过去分词作状语，和逻辑主语vertical farming之间构成逻辑上的动宾关系。

【句式仿写】和传统的通信工具比起来，现代通信工具非常便捷并且给我们带来了很多的好处。