Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/15/2015 -- The Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations reports that approximately 800 million people worldwide now practice urban agriculture. The implications of this astounding figure are that an estimated 15-20 percent of the world's food is currently being produced using urban farming methods, which regularly employ techniques such as hydroponics. And this number is set to rise.

Hydroponic systems or 'vertical farms',can assist in alleviating the global food crisis by contributing to food security in a world which is becoming increasingly volatile due to the effects of climate change. Recent reports of urban spaces being used for hydroponics, such as the sides of car parks in Wyoming to contemporary office spaces in rural Guanajuato in central Mexico, have shed light on the potential of urban agriculture to remake derelict or contemporary urban spaces with positive benefits. Vertical farms aim to avoid the problems inherent in growing food in remote locations which increase the risk of disease and can contribute heavily to toxic carbon emissions. The populations of overpopulated areas such as cities can benefit hugely from such developments which are generally safer and more environmentally friendly.

A spokesperson for hydroponics specialists, One Stop Grow Shop said, 'A fifth of the world's food being produced using urban farming methods is an astonishing figure. We anticipate this number will increase as the world continues to develop and become more urbanized and people learn how to use their own urban farming or hydroponics kits. We are pleasantly surprised by the rapid growth of hydroponics over the last decade or so. It's a practice which has been around for centuries, and is quite established within the farming community. But to see it being used in this manner on a global scale to deal with huge problems such as world food security is very encouraging.'

PR Contact
One Stop Grow Shop
Company name: One Stop Grow Shop
Tel: 01782 749 955
Website: http://www.onestopgrowshop.co.uk
Contact person: Simon Powell
Email: simon@onestopgrowshop.co.uk
Address: Unit C1, Fenton Trade Park
Dewsbury Road
Stoke-on-Trent
Staffordshire