Feeding the world's rapidly growing population will require innovative solutions. One of the more eye-catching ideas currently on display in Milan, Italy, takes crops in a whole new direction.

The vertical farm is a 9,250-square-foot garden that grows 42 varieties of vegetables, herbs and grains. But unlike the garden that grows on the ground in your backyard, the vertical farm resembles a wall of crops.

The plants hang from vertical frames watered though a drip-irrigation system. Crews will harvest the vertical farm daily during the Expo's six-month run.

distributed by