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--></style><title>Can urban farming provide unpolluted
food?</title></head><body>
<div><font face="Arial"><i>Nature</i> 531, S60 (17 March 2016)
doi:10.1038/531S60a<br>
Published online 16 March 2016<br>
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Perspective: City farming needs monitoring<br>
Andrew A. Meharg</font><br>
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<div><font face="Arial">1st 3 paragraphs</font></div>
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People are moving from the countryside to cities in ever increasing
numbers. As towns and cities grow, farmland is being concreted over.
Urban agriculture is often considered to be the future, at least for
some components of a city dweller's diet. But cities are far from
prime agricultural land, and it cannot be assumed that food produced
in urban areas is safe to eat.<br>
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Growing food in urban environments seems like an attractive
proposition, partly because of the inherent sustainability: waste heat
that all cities generate can be harnessed, and grey water (waste water
from baths, showers and kitchen appliances) or surface runoff and
nutrient-rich sewage effluent can be recycled. As well as a
sustainable use of brownfield sites, it can reduce the carbon
footprint of food transport and can make cities greener. For poorer
families, urban farming produces an income and can diversify diet.
Community-based projects can promote social interaction and outdoor
activity for a double dose of health benefits. Areas designed with
urban farming in mind - such as vertical farms (growing plants up the
sides of buildings, for example) and patchworks of fields between, on
top of or within blocks of buildings - could shape our future cities.
Rooftop and indoor farming would further increase the land area
available for agriculture.</font><br>
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<div><font face="Arial">But before urban farming can be expanded on a
large scale, a key issue that differentiates cities from the
countryside must be considered: pollution.</font></div>
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