Walmart invests in vertical farming startup Plenty

Walmart is investing in … walls. Or, more specifically, Quartz reports, in the startup Plenty, an indoor vertical farming company that produces leafy greens. The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal, but the investment was part of a $400 million funding round that included other corporate contributors. Greens like kale, arugula, and lettuce grown without pesticides at Plenty’s indoor Los Angeles farm will be sold at the company’s 280 California stores. Walmart says the investment will bring it closer to its sustainability goals; the move may also be a hedge against increasingly unpredictable weather cycles and a raft of recent foodborne illness outbreaks traced to conventionally-grown leafy greens. Regardless of what’s driving the push, it’s clear there’s plenty of green flowing into the future of these veggies. —H. Claire Brown