Our Hungry Planet: Could Manhattan Feed Manhattan?

How much space is needed to produce food for the entire population of Manhattan, including those who live there and those who visit? With current US production yields, this would require 150 times the area of Manhattan. With a combination of hydroponic farming to boost crop efficiency, organic farming for animals to increase quality and animal well-being, while maintaining minimum livestock surface areas as specified by Dutch regulations (US organic farming regulations do not specify minimum), the area needed for food production is reduced to 46 times Manhattan. To grow all food for Manhattanites in one tower, a tower of 23 miles in height would be needed, including the food for animal production (or 8.7 miles tall without food). By distributing various ingredients over Governors Island in different towers—cereal tower, chicken tower, fruit tower, fish tower—a gigantic food city would appear next to Lady Liberty. Alternatively, distributing the towers over all the rooftops of Manhattan would result in a food layer of 656 feet on top of every building of the city. -- from the website.

This silent video by MVRDV explores what it would take to feed the people of Manhattan with the land of the island:
The upshot: We'd need a 23-mile high vertical farm. Or truly pervasive urban agriculture

Dietary changes would also reduce a city's foodprint, of course.

Food Print Manhattan was presented at Pioneers of Change, a festival of Dutch design, fashion and architecture on New York's Governors Island, curated by Renny Ramakers.

For more info visit http://www.droog.com/presentationsevents/pioneers-of-change/