How engineered microbes could help feed the world’s crops
Startup Switch Bioworks is developing engineered microbes to help crops fix nitrogen from the air, potentially reducing the agricultural sector's reliance on energy-intensive chemical fertilizers. This innovation aims to lower costs for farmers and decrease the environmental impact of global food production.
Why it matters
Reducing dependence on synthetic fertilizers is critical for lowering global greenhouse gas emissions and stabilizing food prices amid energy market volatility.
Startup Switch Bioworks hopes to use microbes to reduce demand for chemical fertilizer.
Fertilizer is crucial for the global food supply, but making it uses a lot of energy and produces a lot of emissions. Some companies hope microbes can help.
A growing body of research shows that seeding the soil around a crop’s roots with beneficial microbes can help feed the plant, providing crucial nitrogen to help it grow. This could help reduce the need for chemical fertilizer, production of which accounts for roughly 2% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. It could also cut costs for farmers, a big boon—especially as the Iran war has sent energy and fertilizer prices skyrocketing in recent months.
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