We read this in high school. Loved it. Have you read Midnight’s Children (Salman Rushdie)? I enjoyed that for similar reasons

I don’t know all the details of vertical farming, but there is more to it than energy efficiency. The controlled environment is supposed to remove the need for pesticides, bring fertiliser use right down to the minimum possible, and then there’s the efficiency in logistics of growing food closer to point of consumption, especially when temperature/humidity/ light control lets you grow exotic stuff locally year round.

Whether it is worth it overall is unclear. Probably the answer is “sometimes, it depends on the situation”.