"The answer to the problem, according to a company called Valcent, is to build our croplands like skyscrapers: straight up. "

How about we build our structures more vertical using less land and leave the farmland alone?

Nice idea, and I certainly can see uses for it, but it has nothing to do with farm land being paved over and lost. There is plenty of farmland. The US govt is [stupidly] paying for farmland to sit unused. Farmers try to produce more food with less land because it is more cost effective, increasing profitability, not because there is not enough land. This is more important than ever because govt interference has pushed costs up and pushed food prices down. In other places, poor farming techniques--whether

Perhaps it may have something to do with farmers being willing to sit on their butts and cop the cash the government pays them to bank land rather than get off their butts and farm it?

Reuters Video features Valcent's VertiCrop vertical farming system: http://bit.ly/a9p47W

"I can't think of any technology that addresses more urgent issues than Valcent's vertical farming system", says RFK Jr http://bit.ly/cPb00g

see his video here: http://MercuryJustice.org

RFK Jr also supports ALGAE based Carbon Capture