Leading vertical farming companies have committed to a Vertical Farming Identity Statement and Industry Manifesto. An unprecedented industry momentum to contribute jointly to a sustainable transformation of global food systems.
- Signing companies are 80 Acres, AeroFarms, Bowery, Crop One, CubicFarms, Elevate Farms, Fifth Season, Fischer Farms, Freight Farms, Infarm, Infinite Acres, Jones Food Company, Kalera, La Grangette, Ljusgårda, N.THING, Plenty, Stacked Farm, Urban Crop Solutions, Urban Harvest, Vertical Future, YesHealth Group and ZipGrow
- The Vertical Farming Manifesto was signed at the Vertical Farming World Congress in Brussels (September 19-21)
Brussels, September 20, 2022 – Leading vertical farming companies signed the first Vertical Farming Manifesto and Identity – both clear and bold industry standards. They highlight the impact and contribution the industry intends to make to transform current food systems and help to solve one of humanity’s toughest challenges of providing food for a growing population in a sustainable, circular way.
The Vertical Farming Identity and the Manifesto describe the urgency of transforming current food systems and explain how vertical farming systems can contribute significantly to designing food systems which are resilient and future-proof. Through technological innovation, indoor vertical farming decouples food production from external factors like climate or public health crises. By localising production and controlling the growing environment, vertical farming provides pesticide-free produce, uses significantly less land and water, and requires fewer transportation miles.
Toward the industry’s goal of driving the transformation of food systems, the companies strive to set high standards by aligning with globally accepted impact frameworks, for example, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), B Corp, or the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, the industry is dedicated to continuously investing in research and development to improve vertical farming technology and grow even smarter and more sustainable food systems.
“Our industry has demonstrated its early potential, but there is much yet to be realised as we continue to innovate. At Urban Crop Solutions, we continuously strive to make the entire indoor farming journey more circular, and to demonstrate our added value for new and emerging food production methods. As with any nascent industry, open and close collaboration is necessary, especially where sustainability is concerned. We are therefore proud to join our industry peers in supporting the identity statement and manifesto.” – Maarten Vandecruys, Founder, Urban Crop Solutions