Urbanisation of food production : can indoor vertical farming reduce the footprint of kitchen herbs?

Götz, Michael; Wanner, Silvan; Stucki, Matthias

Publication type:	Conference other
Type of review:	Peer review (abstract)
Title:	Urbanisation of food production : can indoor vertical farming reduce the footprint of kitchen herbs?
Authors:	Götz, Michael Wanner, Silvan Stucki, Matthias
et. al:	No
Conference details:	11th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM), Lille, France, 6-8 September 2023
Issue Date:	8-Sep-2023
Language:	English
Subjects:	Life cycle assessment (LCA); Environmental impact; Vertical farming; Indoor farming; Food production; Urbanisation
Subject (DDC):	333: Economics of land and resources 630: Agriculture
Abstract:	Climate change, population growth and loss of arable land threaten the resilience of global and local food systems. Recent events have further exacerbated pressures on agriculture and trade, leading to a rise in food prices worldwide. Urbanisation of food production is one of the global megatrends for food culture. However, to date, indoor vertical farming players have focused on reducing investment and operating costs to stay competitive but failed to control rising waste volumes and huge energy consumption with low efficiency, thereby creating yet another unsustainable situation. Vertical farming is a costly industry, yet its growth should not be detrimental to the environment nor consumer wallets. In Switzerland alone, consumer demand for this product segment has grown at a 7% compound annual growth rate between 2017-2020, driven by the rising trend of plant-based diets. However, around 52% of the herbs and leafy green products are imported by land or worse, by air freight. The LOFT project intends to improve production efficiency in vertical farming and cut waste by combining existing cutting-edge technologies and innovative production know-how to optimize herbs production regarding lighting, water use and nutrient recycling in a closed system. Indoor vertical farming models can produce 100x more food per m2 compared to traditional farming methods, while using 95% less water, no soil, nor chemical pesticides. Furthermore, the controlled environment also has the benefit of providing predictable and consistent crop yield 365 days a year. Thus, reducing the risks of food supply chain failure and price fluctuation, while improving the company’s customers resilience. On the other hand, indoor vertical farming requires significantly more energy input and infrastructure than traditional farming. We conducted a comparative life cycle assessment of Italian basil (Ocimum basilicum) from vertical indoor farming and conventional cultivation in greenhouses. Foreground data on the life cycle of the basil production in vertical farming system was collected from the YASAI pilot farm in Switzerland with an annual herb production capacity of 20 tons on the 600 m2 -sized farm. The considered life cycle stages include the infrastructure, growing chamber, energy inputs, nutrient inputs, harvesting including biowaste disposal, followed by the packaging and transportation in a cooled lorry to the retailer. The study shows the potential of vertical farming with significantly higher yields per m2 and local production with minimized transport distances. However, production efficiency needs to increase to improve product’s unit economics to allow vertical farming to withhold its own in the market. Crucial factors are the reduction of energy consumption as well as a further use of waste heat and continuing high yields, combined with low biowaste.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/30519
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Not specified
Departement:	Life Sciences and Facility Management
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Natural Resource Sciences (IUNR)
Published as part of the ZHAW project:	LOFT – Local food for the future
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Life Sciences und Facility Management

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Götz, M., Wanner, S., & Stucki, M. (2023, September 8). Urbanisation of food production : can indoor vertical farming reduce the footprint of kitchen herbs? 11th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM), Lille, France, 6-8 September 2023.

Götz, M., Wanner, S. and Stucki, M. (2023) ‘Urbanisation of food production : can indoor vertical farming reduce the footprint of kitchen herbs?’, in 11th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM), Lille, France, 6-8 September 2023.

M. Götz, S. Wanner, and M. Stucki, “Urbanisation of food production : can indoor vertical farming reduce the footprint of kitchen herbs?,” in 11th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM), Lille, France, 6-8 September 2023, Sep. 2023.

GÖTZ, Michael, Silvan WANNER und Matthias STUCKI, 2023. Urbanisation of food production : can indoor vertical farming reduce the footprint of kitchen herbs? In: 11th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM), Lille, France, 6-8 September 2023. Conference presentation. 8 September 2023

Götz, Michael, Silvan Wanner, and Matthias Stucki. 2023. “Urbanisation of Food Production : Can Indoor Vertical Farming Reduce the Footprint of Kitchen Herbs?” Conference presentation. In 11th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM), Lille, France, 6-8 September 2023.

Götz, Michael, et al. “Urbanisation of Food Production : Can Indoor Vertical Farming Reduce the Footprint of Kitchen Herbs?” 11th International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM), Lille, France, 6-8 September 2023, 2023.