Expanding on my previous post on the potential for Aquaponics to help sustainably tackle the food crisis, I will look at the case of Urban Organics.

Urban Organics is a Minnesota based company that specializes in urban agriculture and aquaponics. In 2012, they paired up with the large water-management industrialists Pentair to convert a giant abandoned brewery into an indoor urban farm. They utilized advanced water-managment, space-saving and aquaponics knowledge to create a highly efficient vertical farm that is able to sustainably grow organic food and provide for the community year-round. Which in chilly Minnesota is virtually unheard of.

They are able to grow up to 6000 Tilapia fishes and produce an acre’s worth of crops in an 8000 sq. ft. space. A remarkably efficient use of space.

By the start of 2014, Urban Organic’s farm was able to produce 450,000 kg of vegetables like lettuce, and 23,000 kg of fish.

Plans to expand into the second floor of the brewery and introduce more species of fish such as trout into the system will only lead to growth and expansion of profits and produce.

This is a fantastic example of the potential for efficient commercial aquaponics systems. Urban Organic’s facility has just scratched the surface when it comes to the possibilities to provide fresh, organic produce to the masses sustainably.