Agriculture has long been essential to our survival, but it comes with a high environmental cost. Luckily, companies like Google X startup Heritable Agriculture are ready to transform how we grow food.
According to TechCrunch, Heritable is using machine learning and big data to create crops that require fewer resources, use less water, and reduce agriculture's environmental impact.
Agriculture is essential to daily life, but it's also a leading cause of environmental degradation. It accounts for 25% of global greenhouse gas pollution, consumes large amounts of water, and contributes to soil pollution from chemicals. Heritable aims to tackle these challenges by making farming more efficient and sustainable — preserving resources and reducing waste while improving the health of the planet.
|
What is the biggest reason you haven't added solar panels to your home? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
The cost 
Rather than modifying crops genetically, Heritable focuses on improving traditional breeding methods with machine learning. By analyzing plant genomes, the company identifies traits such as water efficiency, carbon storage, and resilience to climate change. These improvements could make farming more sustainable, reduce reliance on chemicals, and help create a cleaner food system.
Heritable's approach relies on data-driven insights. By understanding how plants function at a genetic level, the company breeds crops that naturally require fewer resources. While gene editing may eventually play a role, Heritable is initially focused on conventional breeding techniques, optimizing natural traits that can reduce agriculture's environmental toll.
The company has tested its technology in growth chambers and field sites across the U.S., yielding promising results. The potential to reduce water usage, soil degradation, and air pollution from farming could reshape how food is produced. With continued development, Heritable's work could help farmers increase efficiency, easing pressure on the environment.
Watch now: Giant snails invading New York City?
Heritable is still in its early stages, but it has already raised seed funding from investors such as Google. As the company scales, it plans to partner with commercial growers to bring its innovations to market.
"I was given broad purview to work on whatever I wanted, as long as it could scale to a Google-size business," Heritable founder and CEO Brad Zamft told TechCrunch. "That was the mandate. The idea of how do we get better at optimizing plants stuck with me, and it gained traction with the leadership. We did a very good job moving through the gauntlet that is Google X."
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
