Unreasonable Impact | Feeding a Fast-Growing Population: Q&A with GrowUp Urban Farms
by Brittany Lane
Originally posted on Unreasonable Impact, created with Barclays
In the twenty-first century, people are moving to cities at an alarming rate. By 2050, nearly three-quarters of the world will reside in urban areas, especially in places across Asia and Africa. As they stand, cities remain ill equipped to absorb the increasing pressures on sectors like transportation, health care, and food.
Traditional agriculture boasts its own problems. The sector alone consumes around 70 percent of the world’s freshwater and is responsible for over 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. An unsustainable supply coupled with unprecedented demand requires us to reimagine how people access affordable and nutritious food.
Luckily, some companies are a step ahead. GrowUp Urban Farms, a London-based company founded in 2013 by Kate Hofman and Tom Webster, produces fresh fish, micro greens and herbs year-round in unused urban spaces – using both aquaponic and vertical growing technologies.
Unreasonable visited one of GrowUp’s farms to see the aquaponics system in action. While there, we spoke with Kate about the global food system, job creation, and the power of fish poo.
