Back in the 1930s, the grandmother of former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young could not have known that growing vegetables in her backyard garden in New Orleans would one day help inspire a movement to feed the world and rethink food production.
Young watched his grandmother feed not only her family with vegetables from her garden, but also homeless people she invited into her kitchen, his brother Walter Young recalled.
“Andrew had a dream also, but it didn’t begin in Atlanta,” Walter Young said. “…We need to find a way to feed others. We need to keep that dream alive.”
Those childhood experiences helped shape the vision behind the Forever Young Aquaponics facility in Jonesboro. The project was created by the Andrew J. Young Foundation and its partners. The operation combines greenhouse fish farming and soilless agriculture to grow leafy greens in a closed-loop system.
In an aquaponics system, fish waste is converted by good bacteria into nutrients that feed plants. As the plants absorb those nutrients, they help clean the water, which is then recirculated back to the fish tanks.
The indoor farm houses 40,000 hybrid striped bass in the large tanks and a greenhouse that produces 15,000 pounds of organic greens weekly, said Rawson Haverty, a partner with Forever Young.
A ribbon-cutting event for the facility was held Tuesday and drew business leaders, elected officials and international visitors interested in creating similar systems in their own communities. Among those attending was Delta Air Lines President Peter Carter.
Young, who was traveling outside the U.S., participated through a recorded video message.
“We think this is the key to the future of food, and it will be a profitable venture,” Young said in the video.
The facility is intentionally located about 15 minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport so visitors from around the world can easily tour the site, said Gaurav Kumar, president of the Andrew J. Young Foundation.
“People from around the world can come and see and be inspired,” Kumar said.
Forever Young plans to partner with colleges, universities and high schools to provide internships and training opportunities in aquaponics.
“Our goal is to make every country food sovereign,” Kumar said.
No pesticides, fertilizers or chemicals are used in the farming operation.
The facility is already in discussions with food distributors and plans to launch a Sunday farmers’ market on site. It also intends to donate between 10 percent and 20 percent of its produce each week to people in need, Kumar said.
Kumar and Young said the project is driven by love and a desire to help address hunger in a world with increasingly limited natural resources for food production.
“We take everything for free from Mother Nature… so how do you pay back?” Kumar said. “I think that if every individual on the planet thinks that they can leave behind something more than they consumed in their lifetime, that would be a great service to their children and grandchildren.”
Kumar said the idea for the project began taking shape about a decade ago after he visited a similar facility in South Korea.
The foundation also sought guidance from Murray Hallam, founder of Practical Aquaponics Australia, whom Kumar described as the “Godfather of Aquaponics.”
Arvind Venkat, a managing partner with Forever Young Aquaponics who has advised on aquaponics facilities in 11 countries, recalled Young asking him to commit to a mission when they first met.
“[Young] said, ‘Let’s grow food and let’s grow food sustainably,'” Venkat said.
The ribbon-cutting event took place in front of a banner displaying images of Young during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
Carter described the facility as a “world-class operation” and another example of Young’s “audacious” efforts to improve the world.
Monica Thornton, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in Georgia, said the project is inspiring people to rethink how land can be used to address food needs.
“What I heard today is this has been done with love,” Thornton said. “It takes a community, investment and each one of us to do our part. We want to feed the entire planet. We can do it. This is the start of it.”
