Shipping Containers As Farms

Although the very idea of green and sustainable architecture is hardly a new one, we continue to see fresh and interesting examples in real life, seemingly on a daily basis. Main stars of this green breakthrough are certainly shipping containers. We already saw them as the perfect foundation for modular homes, stores, and shopping malls, but recently, containers are getting a new role, which could eventually overshadow all the previous purposes. Today, we are witnessing a growing number of urban agricultural units - using shipping containers as farms is one of them!

This is a guest post by Sophie Andersen, a blogger and editor-in-chief at Smooth Decorator. We hope that you find it enjoyable and informative.

Importance of Urban Agriculture

Before proceeding to some examples of this interesting development, let us first examine why we consider it such an interesting topic. Urban agriculture has been very prominent ever since people started founding large cities. One of the more known examples would be the Babylonian hanging gardens. Still, in these ancient times, urban gardens were maintained for decorative purposes, and to augment rural food production. Things have considerably changed since then, and by 2030 AD, majority of world population will live in urban areas. In an addition to the loss of farmland, we will continue to see the rise of urban wastelands, so it’s not that hard to conclude that organic food will soon become deficient. That’s why big leaps in urban agriculture are becoming more of a necessity than an option.

Urban Farming, Without Breaking a Sweat

Two major obstacles for wider implementation of urban architecture in newer cites were the lack of proper gardening space and a very fast pace of living, which wasn’t complementary with all the hardships farming involves. Adoption of shipping containers as architecture elements and the rise of information technologies are seemingly solving both of these problems. Founded in 2010 by Jon Friedman and Brad McNamara, Freight Farms, invented the closest thing to plug-n-play mini farms we have witnessed in history. Linking one of the oldest industries of this world to one of the newest, Freight Farms offer small shipping container farms, outfitted with proper insulation, LED growing lights, hydroponic, cooling, and heating systems, and of course a smart software system which holds all of these elaborate options remotely under control, via a smartphone. According to CropBox, another manufacturer, a similar product they are pushing to the market uses up to 80% less fertilizer and 90% less water than regular agriculture. Finally, Growtainer, the third competitor in this niche, proves that shipping container gardening is far more than just a current trend, and that it’s here to stay.

Further Applications

Located in Toronto, Canada, popular Market 707 hosts a number of street-food vendors who serve delicious meals out of their nice shipping containers. Applying all the best solutions that container architecture has to offer (according to specialist from Royal Wolf Australia), this establishment, owned by a meat purveyor, Blue Goose, lacks only one thing – complete independence regarding its foodstuff. Just imagine how simple but important a change will take place once you are able to grow food and sell the final products in urban environments under the same roof. Cities will finally have a fighting chance of becoming self-sustainable and food prices will, for the lack of the middle-man, drop significantly. What’s best about it is that we already can see the seeds being planted. In 2009, Ben Greene designed a plan for repurposing containers into hydroponic farms as part of his master’s thesis. Today, his grand plan, The Farmery, is close to fruition in cities in Colorado and North Carolina. Each of the proposed locations will combine a container farm with a café and a grocery store, achieving best farm-to-shopping transparency yet.

It’s hard to accurately predict when we can expect some drastic developments considering the prevalence of urban container farms, but one thing’s for sure – we will continue to see more and more of them as time goes by. Instead of a major problem in the form of tons and tons of waste, containers are becoming a part of the solution for one of the most important problems of humankind – hunger. And that’s a cause we should all embrace.

Author Bio:

Sophie is blogger and editor-in-chief at Smooth Decorator. She’s hooked on yoga and healthy living. As DIY enthusiast she is always seeking for new home craft ideas. Besides decorating home Sophie also enjoys preparing and decorating food. Follow Sophie on FB.

At Beyond Vitality, we are here to educate, guide, motivate and inspire you into a new and exciting journey to vibrant health. Our programs focus on small and gradual changes towards long-term and sustainable health. See our range of consultations and programs.