DAY 12 – READING

READING PASSAGE 3
Crop-growing skyscrapers
1 1By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the Earth’s population will live in urban centres.
2Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the
human population will increase by about three billion people by then. 3An estimated
10 9 hectares of new land (about 20% larger than Brazil) will be needed to grow
enough food to feed them, if traditional farming methods continue as they are
practised today. 4At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is
suitable for raising crops is in use. 5Historically, some 15% of that has been laid
waste by poor management practices. 6What can be done to ensure enough food for
the world’s population to live on?
2 1The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of
tomatoesand other produce has been in vogue for some time. 2What is new is the
urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another three billion
people. 3Many believe an entirely new approach to indoor farming is required,
employing cutting-edge technologies. 4One such proposal is for the ‘Vertical Farm’.
5The concept is of multi-storey buildings in which food crops are grown in
environmentally controlled conditions. 6Situated in the heart of urban centres, they
would drastically reduce the amount of transportation required to bring food to
consumers. 7Vertical farms would need to be efficient, cheap to construct and safe
to operate. 8If successfully implemented, proponents claim, vertical farms offer the
promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply
(through year-round production of all crops), and the eventual repair of ecosystems
that havebeen sacrificed for horizontal farming.
3 1It took humans 10,000 years to learn how to grow most of the crops we now
takefor granted. 2Along the way, we despoiled most of the land we worked, often
turningverdant, natural ecozones into semi-arid deserts. 3Within that same time
frame, weevolved into an urban species, in which 60% of the human population now
livesvertically in cities. 4This means that, for the majority, we humans have shelter
fromthe elements, yet we subject our food-bearing plants to the rigours of the great
outdoors and can do no more than hope for a good weather year. 5However, more
often than not now, due to a rapidly changing climate, that is not what happens.
6Massive floods, long droughts, hurricanes and severe monsoons take their toll each
year, destroying millions of tons of valuable crops.
4 1The supporters of vertical (arming claim many potential advantages for the
system.2For instance, crops would be produced all year round, as they would be
kept inartificially controlled, optimum growing conditions. 3There would be no
weatherrelated crop failures due to droughts, floods or pests. 4All the food could be
grown organically, eliminating the need for herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers. 5The
system would greatly reduce the incidence of many infectious diseases that are
acquired at the agricultural interface. 6Although the system would consume energy,
it would return energy to the grid via methane generation from composting
nonedible parts of plants. 7It would also dramatically reduce fossil fuel use, by
cutting out the need for tractors, ploughs and shipping.
5 1A major drawback of vertical farming, however, is that the plants would require
artificial light. 2Without it, those plants nearest the windows would be exposed to
more sunlight and grow more quickly, reducing efficiency of the system.
3Singlestorey greenhouses have the benefit of natural overhead light: even so, many
still need artificial lighting. 4A multi-storey facility with no natural overhead light
would require far more. 5Generating enough light could be prohibitively expensive,
unless cheap, renewable energy is available, and this appears to be rather a future
aspiration than a likelihood for the near future.
6 1One variation on vertical farming that has been developed is to grow plants in
stacked trays that move on rails. 2Moving the trays allows the plants to get enough
sunlight. 3This system is already in operation, and works well within a single-storey
greenhouse with light reaching it from above: it is not certain, however, that it can
be made to work without that overhead natural light.
7 1Vertical farming is an attempt to address the undoubted problems that we face
in producing enough food for a growing copulation. 2At the moment, though, more
needs to be done to reduce the detrimental impact it would have on the
environment, particularly as regards the use of energy. 3While it is possible that
much of our food will be grown in skyscrapers in future, most experts currently
believe it is far more likely that we will simply use the space available on urban
rooftops.

Questions 8-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, write

if the statement agrees with the

TRUE
information
if the statement contradicts the
FALSE
information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

8 Methods for predicting the Earth’s population have recently changed. not given

9 Human beings are responsible for some of the destruction to food-producing land
true

10 The crops produced in vertical farms will depend on the season. false
11 Some damage to food crops is caused by climate change. true
12 Fertilisers will be needed for certain crops in vertical farms. false

13 Vertical farming will make plants less likely to be affected by infectious diseases.
true