Amazon Introduces its First Line of Leafy Green Lettuces

Key Points: 

  • Amazon is selling its first line of leafy green lettuce in less than two years after investing in Hippo Harvest (a climate-tech startup) based in California.
  • According to Hippo Harvest, the greens are cultivated using 55% less fertilizer and 92% less water than conventional produce.
  • The Hippo harvest process includes using greenhouses and robots to reduce the wastage of food and land use.
  • The first commercial greenhouse for hippo harvesting is in a rural town, namely Pescadero, California, about 45 miles south of San Francisco. 
  • Amazon Fresh online customers in San Francisco markets can now purchase Hippo Harvest gourmet lettuce blends, spring mix, and baby romaine. The greens are packaged in 100% post-consumer recycled plastic.

Detailed insight: 

Amazon’s collaboration with Hippo Harvest is part of Amazon’s commitment to combating climate change by supporting and assisting new green technology companies through its Climate Pledge Fund.

Hippo Harvest Processing includes the use of a closed loop, direct-to-root fertilization system, robotics, and machine learning to compute the adequate quantity of fertilizer, water, and light needed. Moreover, the company used helpful insects, peppermint oil, and other natural pest management instead of conventional pesticides.

The typical distance traveled by traditional produce (cultivated in fields throughout the United States) before it reaches the consumer is 1,500 miles. However, Hippo Harvest’s greenhouses don’t require farmland as they are climate-controlled and can be closer to customers even in areas with low water levels and limited agricultural space. 

Additionally, Hippo Harvest uses commercially available robots to farm plants more effectively, lowering food wastage. The robots use specially-made attachments that enable them to provide the plants with exact amounts of water and nourishment. 

Hippo Harvest- CEO Eitan Marder Eppstein is excited to continue collaborating with Amazon as they work to pioneer growing methods that address some of the biggest challenges faced by the food supply and the agriculture sector.

Furthermore, Kara Hurst, Amazon’s Vice President of Worldwide Sustainability, states that climate change has highly impacted how one eats. With decreasing water levels among the agricultural communities, a solution is needed that allows farmers to use natural resources to their best, ensuring everyone’s access to fresh food.

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