Cutting-edge technology is transforming agriculture in Salinas, California – a city where one-fifth of all jobs depend on farming. From laser-wielding robots that zap weeds across 16 acres daily to satellite internet faster than Silicon Valley, dramatic changes are coming to America’s agricultural heartland.
While these innovations promise increased efficiency and reduced pesticide use, they also threaten to hollow out local communities by shipping jobs and control to distant tech centers. We examine how the “green gold” that John Steinbeck wrote about is being transformed by forces that could fundamentally alter rural American life.
