According to a resolution passed by the city council on April 28, Philadelphia is set to become an international hub for indoor growing. Inside a nondescript warehouse in South Philly is a prototype for the future of farming. Jack Griffin, president of Metropolis Farms explains his aims.
“It’s a cool thing, I mean you know think about how many empty warehouses are in the Philadelphia region that could be creating jobs, that could be creating food for our local population,” said Jack.
“It’s a cool thing, I mean you know think about how many empty warehouses are in the Philadelphia region that could be creating jobs, that could be creating food for our local population,” said Jack.
Philadelphia city council recognized Metropolis with resolutions to make the city an international hub for vertical farming.
The idea is “to establish Philadelphia as a promenade training center for this type of farming,” said Al Taubenberger.
“Remember we don’t have the weather, when it snowed this April we were growing inside,” Jack said. “We were growing food in January.”
The year round inside farm works by using artificial light. The light and the plants are grown in nutrient rich water, that’s constantly recycled.
“It’s the same nutrients as soil just in a cleaner fashion,” Jack said. “We’re vegan certified which means we have no pesticides, and I mean zero, no herbicides, and no manure, manure being one of the number one causes of food poisoning.”
They can grow everything from lettuce, and basil, to peppers and carrots.
Jack has plans to branch out into empty warehouses all over the city, with hopes of becoming a world leader in vertical farming.
He says he’s addressed a variety of criticisms about vertical farming, by creating systems that are cost effective and use less electricity. Jack sells the produce to local restaurants and places like Whole Foods.
Source: philadelphia.cbslocal.com