Farming the Sky Land is hard to find in Singapore.


More than 5 million people live there. T is city in Asia needs to produce a lot of food to feed all the people. T ere isn’t enough land to plant crops, though. Some farmers think they have


the answer. T ey want to grow food inside tall buildings. It’s called vertical farming. Inside, the plants stay safe from


pests and bad weather. Farmers control the amount of nutrients, light, and water for each plant. Here’s how it works at one indoor


farm. Trays of plants are stacked inside a frame like a giant Ferris wheel. T e frame slowly spins. Each plant gets equal amounts of light, water, and nutrients. T is new technology is still being


tested. If it works, it could be a solution for places that don’t have a lot of farmland.


WORDWISE


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


nutrient: a substance 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 a food printer.


T at wasn’t a joke. Some people already print food. T ese printers don’t squirt ink.


T ey use powders mixed with liquids. T e ingredients are squirted out in layers. T e printer can even cook the food. T is technology is working in some places. In Japan, you can buy chocolate that looks like a friend.


Feeding the World Earth’s population is growing. More


and more people need to be fed. T is could become a big problem. Don’t worry. Farmers and scientists


are hard at work. T ey’re finding new ways to help feed our hungry planet.


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