2. BrightFarms

For pulling gas-belching 18-wheelers off the road. BrightFarms works with the big grocers to harvest lettuce, tomatoes, and herbs on-site (or nearby) in large hydroponic greenhouses. This has resulted in cutting transportation costs and waste, lowering prices, and adding days to the shelf life of perishable foods. Among the greenhouses scheduled to open this year is a 100,000-square-foot rooftop farm—the largest in the world—in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park. It should produce 1 million pounds of produce a year.

By Chuck Salter for Fast Company