Annie Levine10/27/13The Future is HereFood is an entity that impacts the mind, body and ecosystem. It is central to our culture and plays the central role in our health and the environments. Oftentimes, which foods are grown, where they come from, how they are transported and the environmental implications of growing them are overlooked. Optimal food production and distribution must be a central goal of the future.Ecological food systems are a very important part of the future. By 2050, the human population will increase to 8 billion people, 80% of which are projected to live in urban areas. By this time, a landmass larger than that of Brazil will be required to feed all the extra mouths. This much arable land simply does not exist on the planet. Eighty percent of land suitable for farming is already in use. Between 2008 and 2009, food saw an increase in prices of 7.4 percent while fertilizer prices rose 60% in 2008. According the McDonough and Braungart, authors of Cradle To Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, industry and the environment are at odds with one another. What if humans designed products and systems that celebrate an abundance of human creativity, culture and productivity? That are intelligent and safe and our species leaves an ecological footprint to delight, not lament? (McDonough, Braungart 2002). A farm is an ecosystem and must be designed as such. Currently, our agricultural system in a fragile one based on fossil fuels. Forty percent of the worlds agricultural land is degraded because of poor farming practices.One new innovative approach to farming is to create a food forest. This concept utilizes the canopies, understories, groundcover and roots. A vertical approach to farming will have higher yields. Forests build organic matter quickly which naturally fertilizes and protects the soil from erosion. Diversity of root size and depth leads to soil stabilization, better water penetration and more oxygenated soil. Perennials have deeper root systems and more potential for capturing and recycling nutrients. This approach could be used on a large scale, in urban settings.The Vertical Farm in an urban farming approach designed by Professor Desmond Despommier of Columbia University. Given the expected population explosion and mass movement of people into urban centers, Vertical Farming was designed in order to maximize the amount of food produced in small, environmentally controlled centers, close to densely populated areas.Vertical Farming is a type of indoor hothouse farming. In todays world, the climate is changing rapidly and we are experiencing more floods, droughts, huge hurricanes and monsoons. These natural disasters take a toll on agriculture yearly and destroy millions of tons of crops. Imagine glass cube shaped buildings stacked five stories high. Each floor can house a different type of crop. For example one vertical farm may have wheat on one floor, strawberries on another, cows beneath that and chickens beneath that. This vertical farm can be built just outside of New York City on a brownfield that was previously abandoned because it is indoors and therefore environmentally controlled. Beside that vertical farm, a cupcake factory may pop up who will use the ingredients from the Vertical Farm next door; wheat for the flour, strawberries for the filling and eggs and milk to make the dough. A chain reaction of local businesses will begin to flourish re-localizing economy and increasing the quality of food for urban dwellers. Advantages to the Vertical Farm include:-Year round crops-1 indoor acre=4-6 outdoor-No weather related crop failure-Organic-Recycles black and brown water into potable drinking water using evapotranspiration-Restores farmland to nature allowing ecosystem function to return to normal-Adds energy to grid using methane generation from composting inedible parts of plants and animals-Reduces fossil fuel use dramatically (no tractors, plows and minimal shipping)-Converts abandoned urban areas into food plots-Creates sustainable environments for urban centers-Creates valuable employmentThe creation of sustainable urban environments and farming encourages good health, valuable employment, fewer abandoned buildings, cleaner air, safe use of municipal waste and safe drinking water. The creation of innovative urban food systems has innumerable benefits to our culture. It presents opportunity to satisfy the human body with nourishment, something so many people needlessly go without, substantiate the human mind with creativity and appease the soul by advancing our society towards a more meaningful and peaceful existence.