Another massively successful vertical farming startup is pushing the future of farming towards the sky, literally and figuratively. From an ag-tech startup named Plenty, a two-acre indoor vertical farm produces yields that would normally require a 720-acre ‘flat farm’—and it can be done with 95% less water. The vision is truly one out of Star Trek, with Plenty’s use of robotics and artificial intelligence to ensure perfect plants year round. The reasons to support indoor vertical farming are varied, ranging from climate-related benefits to removing cumbersome logistical challenges like long-distance transportation. The company’s website says the technology “frees agriculture from the constraints of weather, seasons, time, distance, pests, natural disasters, and climate” that makes GMO-free nutrient-rich plants at scale with “extraordinary flavor.” Reductions in transportation chains would eliminate millions of tons of CO2 every year, since instead of importing produce into city centers from farms across the country or the world, you could order it from a warehouse on the edge of town. Furthermore, Plenty’s farms grow non-GMO crops without the use of pesticides or herbicides, and recycle every drop of water that’s not used, making them extremely friendly to the environment—except for their power usage. Credit: WASTE ED
