A new age of agriculture is upon us. Farming outdoors on a single plot of land is extremely outdated. Through many scientific advances, our society is now capable of producing and distributing food that is healthier, grown considerably more efficient, and is free from natural challenges that affect crops grown outdoors.

Vertical farming is a huge step in cultivating a sustainable healthy future. If you are unfamiliar with what vertical farming is, I suggest you watch this short video.

Vertical Farming allows us to provide vegetation anywhere in the world. We can drop giant gardens on anybody’s doorstep — imagine huge warehouses anywhere in the world that yields consistent harvests all year long. Anyone living in the northern hemisphere should be ecstatic about that! These gardens help the logistical nightmare of trying to supply food to everyone all over the globe.

As with any new scientific development, time and improvements are needed before anyone can expect to replace the entire way we grow the world’s food. That being said, it is important that we recognize science for what it is, as well as for what it can be.

In time, these farms will be made incomparably efficient, cheap, sustainable and most importantly, productive. It is my belief that through vertical farming, the entire world economy will begin to change.

I find it conceivable that within 50 years we can produce such an egregious excess of crops that the plummeting price per unit will allow plant based materials to encroach upon every manufacturing industry. For example, we may see a transition towards plants being used to replace plastic, create rope, paper, oils and even meats! These are just a few of the infinite possibilities.

Now before you say I'm a hippie trying to make the entire planet green, don’t write me off, please.

We all remember when SunChips ditched their compostable bags and made a bag entirely out of plant based material; it crinkled so loud it made our ears bleed. Or that veggie burger we ate as kids that tasted like plastic-flavored cardboard. It is important to remember that science is always improving upon itself. We all must have confidence that one day, there will be a SunChips, plant-based bag that doesn’t wake your neighbors, and a veggie burger that satisfies even the most carnivorous of appetites. Science will make it happen.

I’ve mentioned plants replacing meat twice now. All the other points I brought up maybe aren’t as foreign of a concept as green meat — it is certainly the main point of concern among my peers. So green meat is getting a special highlight.

If I can get Americans to give up meat, I would truly believe anything is possible. I am in no way saying that we should give up meat as a whole, but I do want to corner it out of the market and become less prominent that it phases out slowly that it becomes a delicacy.

My fellow carnivores are probably cringing as much as I used to, when I heard that notion originally; but open your mind to the future. I love biting into a carne asada taco as much as any other taco connoisseur. It’s hard trying to imagine my Tuesdays any other way. But food science is on the brink of making green meat that will satisfy every meat lover's desires.

Here's a video about a company named Beyond Meat. Spoiler alert: They make meat out of plants.

If you’ve stuck it out through this whole article, hopefully you have some new ideas to consider about the impact agricultural improvements can make to the world. Vertical Farming is only one key step in a huge scientific, political and social battle for making our world healthy and sustainable. It can be done.

We’re going to have to work hard if we really want change though. We must work together and we must be willing to keep our minds open to change, in all its forms. Nowadays more than ever, I think it is important to never forget that the past has passed. We must be willing to let go of it and allow the future to grow. When I say let go, I do not mean forget. On the contrary, I believe that the essence of our greatness as a species comes from our ability to carry and infuse our past into the future.