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Background: Controlled environment agriculture, particularly vertical farms (VF), also called plant factories, is often claimed as a solution for global food security due to its ability to produce crops unaffected by weather or pests. In principle, essential macronutrients of the human diet, like protein, could technically be produced in VF. This aspect becomes relevant in the era of protein transition, marked by an increasing consumer interest in plant‐based protein and environmental challenges faced by conventional farming. However, the real question is: what does the cultivation of protein crops in VF imply in terms of resource use? To address this, a study was conducted using a VF experiment focusing on two soybean cultivars. Results: With a variable plant density to optimize area use, and because of the ability to have more crop cycles per year, protein yield per square metre of crop was about eight times higher than in the open field. Assuming soy as the only protein source in the diet, the resources needed to get total yearly protein requirement of a reference adult would be 20 m2 of crop area, 2.4 m3 of water and 16 MWh of electricity, versus 164 m2, 111 m3 and 0.009 MWh in the field. Conclusions: The study's results inform the debate on protein production and the efficiency of VF compared to conventional methods. With current electricity prices, it is unlikely to justify production of simple protein crops in VF or promote it as a solution to meet global protein needs. © 2024 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urban growth seen globally in recent years has not been supported by a simultaneous increase in agricultural land and/or crop productivity. Producing crops in (peri‐)urban areas shows good potential to provide the vegetable products for a healthy and balanced diet for the growing population, but it has to deal with the local availability of resources. Thus, meeting the food requirements of the urban population as efficiently and robustly as possible is a challenge. This study developed a methodology to estimate the use of resources of urban farming systems to produce energy‐ and nutrient‐dense vegetables capable of meeting human dietary needs. The method was applied to two extremely different cultivation systems (an open field farm and a plant factory with artificial lighting) for the production of seven crops. The results on the resource efficiencies to meet the annual per‐capita vegetable requirements are discussed in relation to crop type, local climate and cultivation system. The application of this methodology can support farmers' decisions on the choice of crops and the type of urban farming systems that are most efficient in contributing to a plant‐based diet. The results can also be translated into water, energy, and surface area needed to meet the nutritional requirements at a city‐regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]