Vertical Oasis in a Food Desert

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July 13, 2012

Another fantastic idea out of the TEDx Manhattan talks in January - Indoor, edible walls. Steve Ritz, a grade school science teacher from the South Bronx grew enough food on the walls of his classroom to feed nearly 450 people. Ritz's effort is part of a larger effort to increase access to healthy, fresh food in cities, and to provide something of an oasis in so-called "food deserts." 

There are, of course, limitations of these indoor walls - they will not be able to provide a comprehensive solution to vegetable shortages (hard to grow corn and rice in a vertical environment). But these walls prove that cities can provide food to their residents - urban spaces are not helpless in this regard. Possibly they are the beginning of a larger shift whereby vertical food production will no longer be a futuristic, urban dream, but a practical and viable alternative to importing food from around the world. 

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Painting Over a Food Desert from The Washington Post

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I love nothing more than a summer tomato (maybe add some balsamic, basil, and home-made mozz). In my free-time, I cook, read about cooking, farm, read about farming, and eat. Food is a basic necessity, but good food ought to be a fundamental right.

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