Worlds Largest Vertical Farm in New Jersey

>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=qAlmvmQr9Rw

(19 Aug 2016) VOICE-OVER SCRIPT: • STACKS OF LEAFY GREENS ARE SPROUTING INSIDE THIS OLD BREWERY IN NEWARK NEW JERSEY. • SOUNDBITE (English) David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms • What we do is we trick it. We get it thinking that, if plants could think, all right this is a good environment, it's time to grow now. • WHETHER IT'S THE DROUGHT OUT WEST, FROST IN THE SOUTH,OR OTHER UNFAVORABLE CONDITIONS AFFECTING FARMERS, AEROFARMS IS ONE OF SEVERAL COMPANIES CREATING NEW WAYS TO GROW INDOORS YEAR ROUND. • SOUNDBITE (English) David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms • We grow a plant in about 16 days, what otherwise takes 30 days in the field. • A FEW BLOCKS FROM HERE THE COMPANY IS BUILDING WHAT IT SAYS WILL BE THE LARGEST INDOOR VERTICAL FARM IN THE WORLD IN AN OLD STEEL MILL: TWELVE LEVELS OF GROWTH ON THREE AND A HALF ACRES, PRODUCING TWO MILLION POUNDS OF FOOD PER YEAR. • PRODUCTION SET TO BEGIN NEXT MONTH. • SOUNDBITE (English) David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms • We want to help alleviate food deserts which is a real problem in the United States and around the world. So here, there are areas of Newark that are under privileged, there is not enough economic development, aren't enough supermarkets. We put this farm in one of those areas. • LEAFY GREENS CAN BE GROWN WITH LESS RESOURCES THAN CARROTS OR TOMATOES • SEEDS ARE SPREAD ON A PLATFORM…GROWN… HARVESTED…THEN SOLD AT NEARBY GROCERY STORES. • SOUNDBITE (English) David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms • Here we are able to grow a product, using 95 percent less water, zero pesticides, herbicides, fungicides. • BUT CRITICS SAY THE ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING IN VERTICAL FARMS TAKES UP A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF ENERGY THAT IN TURN CREATES CARBON EMISSIONS. WHEREAS SUNLIGHT IS FREE. • SOUNDBITE (English) Stan Cox, Research Coordinator, The Land Institute • If we did decide we were going to grow all of our nations' vegetable crop in the vertical farming systems, the amount of space required, by my calculation, would be tens of thousands of Empire State Buildings. • STAN COX OF THE LAND INSTITUTE SAYS THAT INSTEAD OF MOVING FOOD PRODUCTION INTO CITIES, THE COUNTRY'S 350 MILLION ACRES OF FARM LAND NEED TO BE MADE MORE SUSTAINABLE. • BUT SOME GROWERS FEEL AGRICULTURE MUST CHANGE TO MEET THE FUTURE. • SOUNDBITE (English) Marc Oshima, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer AeroFarms • We are at a major crisis here for our global food system. We have an increasing population that by the year 2050 we need to feed 9 billion people. • INDOOR FARMING TAKING ROOT TO MEET THAT DEMAND. • TED SHAFFREY, ASSOCIATED PRESS, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY • • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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