Ask the Ray
" If you grow crops in the right-of-way, would the chemicals and metals in water running off from the highway threaten them or bio-accumulate in them? "
John Lanier
Executive Director, Ray C. Anderson Foundation
02.26.2018
As long as internal combustion engines still dominate the road, growing crops in the right-of-way is impossible because of the chemicals and pollutants that make their way into the denigrated soil of the right-of-way. However, we see this as an opportunity.
Choices are constantly being made about whether land should be used for food or energy production. Because the right-of-way is incompatible with food production, we have an opportunity to relieve some of the pressure for more energy production on food-compatible land and move it to the right-of-way. Additionally, other non-food crops can be grown in the right-of-way. On The Ray we have a perennial grain pilot. This grain will produce fibers that can be used in the production of highly disposable goods like diapers, napkins, and paper towers.