Atlanta’s Office of Sustainability has created a taskforce to research safety considerations and policies for future urban agriculture, to grow more local fruits and vegetables.
Called “Controlled Environment Agriculture,” the 21-member committee will study the technique of farming within enclosed structures, which can be located in parking lots, on rooftops and indoors.
“Controlled Environment Agriculture … can provide locally-grown food to residents, reduce our reliance on imported foods, create green jobs and bolster the local economy,” said Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, director of the Office of Sustainability.
Benfield said the taskforce is part of the city’s goal to “bring local, healthy food within a half-mile of 75 percent of all Atlanta residents by the year 2020.”
The taskforce consists of members of the Atlanta City Council, the non-profit community, academia, environmentalists and local farmers. It will meet monthly and determine where Controlled Environment Agriculture is permitted in Atlanta; best practices and policies incorporated by other cities; and the economic impact of this form of agriculture.
It will also look at potential environmental risks and ways to mitigate them.
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