Take farms to new heights, but remember that plants need to be rooted.

Vertical farms are a fine idea, but I think there are a few things glossed over in this article.

First, many plants -- especially your root crops -- need soil/pressure/the Earth to grow well and to absorb the nutrients that they need (and that will nourish us, in turn).

Second, thinking "water + fertilizer = food" is the same reductive, "everything can be treated like parts in a machine" mentality of science and Big Agribusiness. So I'm a bit suspicious of the author's boosterism for aquaponics and aeroponics. They're useful methods and they'd obviously work well in elevated structures or small, urban spaces, but truly nourishing foods need to be grown in soil.