PREVIEW

Vertical Farm Feeds Cincinnati Zoo's Giraffes And Manatees. Giraffes and manatees at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden are helping save the planet by consuming fresh vegetables grown on-site in an onsite ‘vertical farm’. The Zoo’s new container farming system will produce hundreds of pounds of produce each week that will be fed to animals as soon as it’s harvested. Cincinnati Zoo’s vice president of facilities and sustainability, Mark Fisher said: “This gives us a year-round, sustainable source of high-quality food that we can pick and serve immediately.” Other environmental benefits include a reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from crop cultivation, fertilizer application, and manure management associated with traditional farming. The hydroponic farming method uses nutrient-rich water instead of soil to grow plants, so fertiliser and pesticides are not necessary.