The concept of vertical farming comes from Columbia University professor Dickson Despommier. His concept is to build a glass skyscraper composed of fields and orchards on different floors. The overall cultivated area will meet the food needs of 50,000 people. In order to create the most suitable environment for growing plants, factors such as temperature, humidity, airflow, sunlight and nutrients are controlled internally. A conveyor belt moves crops according to settings close to the glass windows to ensure that the plants receive even amounts of natural sunlight. Plants furthest from the windows grow too slowly because they absorb the least sunlight. Another vertical approach is to grow crops on the top floors of buildings rather than on the sides.

The VertiCrop System, called one of the world's top inventions by Time magazine, originated from the desire of a zoo in Devon, England, to grow lettuce for its animals. It is a one-story greenhouse that requires very little energy because the plants are grown on the sides and top of the greenhouse. A sample floating farm in Yancos, New York, generates energy needs from natural lighting, solar panels, wind turbines, biofuels and steam refrigeration. It uses insects instead of pesticides and meets water needs by harvesting rainfall.