InnerTomato Living Sensor honored for showing innovative path to plants that alert farmers optically when they’re thirsty or sick to reduce the use of chemicals while boosting yields

SAN FRANCISCO, CA via WEBWIRE –  InnerPlant, the company pioneering the development of living plant sensors, today announced that its InnerTomato Living Sensor was selected as a finalist for Fast Company 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards in the category of General Excellence and received honorable mention in the food category. The awards honor the businesses, policies, projects, and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to pursuing innovation when it comes to solving health and climate crises, social injustice, or economic inequality.

The InnerTomato Living Sensor is a proprietary tomato plant that alerts farmers when it’s thirsty or sick using optical signals visible using a standard camera on a tractor, drone, satellite, and even an iPhone. Data directly from plants can give farmers early indication of a problem, like a lack of water or pathogen attack, before it spreads to an entire field. This potential early warning helps farmers keep plants healthy, maximizing yields and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides resulting in more profits for farmers and healthier food for consumers.

“Chemicals help us feed a growing population but at a high environmental cost and the problem is made more complex by the fact that nature adapts quickly so the solution to tomorrow’s problem is often a harsher chemical,” explains Shely Aronov, InnerPlant’s CEO and co-founder. “Innovation is the only way to break that cycle so farmers can increase their yields while reducing the negative impacts that harsher and harsher chemicals have on the land.”

Now in its fifth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 33 winners, more than 400 finalists, and more than 800 honorable mentions—with Health and Wellness, AI & Data among the most popular categories. A panel of eminent Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 4,000 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology, and more. Plus, several new categories were added, including Pandemic Response, Urban Design, and Architecture. The 2021 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Brazil to Denmark to Vietnam.

Showcasing some of the world’s most inventive entrepreneurs and companies tackling exigent global challenges, Fast Company’s Summer 2021 issue (on newsstands May 10) highlights, among others, a lifesaving bassinet; the world’s largest carbon sink, thanks to carbon-eating concrete; 3D-printed schools; an at-home COVID-19 testing kit; a mobile voting app; and the world’s cleanest milk.

“There is no question our society and planet are facing deeply troubling times. So, it’s important to recognize organizations that are using their ingenuity, impact, design, scalability, and passion to solve these problems,” says Stephanie Mehta, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “Our journalists, under the leadership of senior editor Morgan Clendaniel, have discovered some of the most groundbreaking projects that have launched since the start of 2020.”

About Inner Plant
InnerPlant is the world’s leading developer of genetically adapted living plant sensors. Founded in 2018 by Shely Aronov and Rod Kumimoto, their team of seasoned food entrepreneurs and scientists uses millions of years of Mother Nature’s R&D and a protein extensively studied for safety as a food additive to help plants send signals that farmers can use to boost yields, increase profits, and preserve the environment. For more information visit: innerplant.com.

About the World Changing Ideas Awards
World Changing Ideas is one of Fast Company’s major annual awards programs and is focused on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. A panel of judges from across sectors choose winners, finalists, and honorable mentions based on feasibility and the potential for impact. With the goals of awarding ingenuity and fostering innovation, Fast Company draws attention to ideas with great potential and helps them expand their reach to inspire more people to start working on solving the problems that affect us all.

Media Contact
Sean Yokomizo
Press@innerplant.com
925.878.1200