Farming the Sky Land is a luxury in Singapore. More than 5 million people already live in this country. Skyscrapers fill the skyline. T ere is little room to grow food here.


More than 90 percent of the food people need must be brought in from other countries. Singapore needs a way to grow more of its


food. Some farmers there think they know what to do. T ey want to grow food inside tall buildings. T is type of farming is called vertical farming. In these indoor farms, people can grow


everything from beets and broccoli to tomatoes and turnips. Buildings protect the plants from pests and bad weather. Farmers control the amount of nutrients, water, and light each plant gets.


A New Kind of Farm Here’s how it works at one indoor farm. Trays of plants are stacked inside a frame. T e frame moves like a giant Ferris wheel. As it slowly spins, each plant gets equal light, good airflow, water, and nutrients. Gravity helps move the wheel. So it doesn’t


take much electricity to run. One wheel can be powered by the same energy needed to light up a 60-watt lightbulb. T e Ferris wheel doesn’t take up much


space, either. T e whole system is about the size of an average bathroom. T is farm holds 120 wheels, but farmers


hope to add 300 more. T is new technology is still being tested to make sure it works. If successful, it could be a good solution for places without a lot of farmland.


WORDWISE


natural resource: something found in nature that is necessary or useful to people


nutrient: a substance in food that a living thing needs to grow


14 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER


population: the total number of people in a group


technology: the use of scientifi c knowledge in industry


Printing Food Earlier, we talked about printing some pizzas. T at wasn’t a joke. It sounds impossible, but people have already printed food. A 3-D printer makes food printing possible. It works a lot like the inkjet printers that many people use at home. Food printers don’t squirt out ink, though. T ey use food powders and liquids. First, the printer mixes the ingredients


according to a programmed recipe. T en it squirts the ingredients out in layers. T e printer heats the ingredients to cook them. T is technology is already working for


some foods, like cookies and burritos. In the Netherlands, printed microwave pancakes sell in supermarkets. In Japan, you can even print 3-D chocolates in the shape of a friend’s face.


Feeding the World Farmers and scientists are teaming up to try to solve some big problems. As the population grows, there are many more mouths to feed. Over time, we’ve learned to change the land.


Now we’re looking to grow towers of crops. Someday, meals will be printed at the push of a button. All will help feed our hungry planet.


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