This week, Aaron and I discuss the emerging technology of vertical farming, which aims to solve a major crisis ­– the global food crisis. That’s huge. Think about this… we’ve gone from Amazon (AMZN) fixing how we receive our packages, Netflix (NFLX) solving how we watch major entertainment, Meta (META) solving how we connect with friends and loved ones, and so on. These were “problems” to solve. But now, tech has graduated to solving real-world problems, such as food security, energy outages, and supply shortages. And indoor farming widely looks to be the solution to a major worldwide problem.

Today, the global food crisis has reached a fever pitch. COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, and myriad other factors  have negatively impacted food production supply chains across the world. Vertical farming, in my opinion, is the most promising solution to this crisis.

By taking one smaller plot of land and growing food vertically in layers, we can increase productivity per square foot by 10X-plus. Now that farmable land is becoming scarcer, indoor farming allows us to start building up instead of out.

Right now, this tech is in its infancy. Most vertical farms in existence today are growing leafy greens, some vegetables – no meat or wheat production. But this is a great starting point. Long term, I envision skyscraper cities of farms. And that’s a world that can produce much more food than it presently can.

Why is this happening now? Geopolitical tensions have taken a hit to food production, and the world is feeling the urgency.

Diversifying to Combat Climate Change

Further, over the past few weeks, we’ve seen record-high temperatures around the globe. We’re beginning to feel the effects of climate change, and unfortunately, this is just the beginning. And it’s more incumbent than ever upon technology companies to intervene with next-generation solutions. With this top of mind, Aaron and I dive into alternative energy – and how it can help to combat these intense global affects.

Temperatures will continue to reach new extremes (in either direction), so we must develop new technologies to adjust to that. And with extreme sun and heat across much of the world, solar is one technology to take advantage of. Battery energy storage solutions are a big part of that. As are hydrogen and wind energy, which will both continue to grow as we shift toward a more sustainable power grid.

In sum, these intense heat waves and rolling blackouts just emphasize our need to create different types of electricity. Until this point, we’ve been reliant upon a sole energy source — natural gas. It’s time to diversify our energy.

Watch the episode at Hypergrowth Investing on YouTube.

On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.