Nutritional Independence: Israel's Security Future Begins on the Plate

Israel's food security rises on the agenda mainly in times of emergency, but it is in fact one of the most pressing infrastructural challenges of the new era. Climate change, fragile supply chains, pandemics, and a shortage of arable land and water all pose a continuous threat to the ability to produce high-quality, stable, and accessible food. This is a global infrastructural challenge -  and it is precisely Israeli technology that offers next-generation agricultural infrastructure as a solution for Israel and the world.

In partnership with GreenOnyx

10:06, 22.04.26

There are moments when reality shakes with such force that it demands a rethinking of what security truly means. The ongoing war is one such moment. It sharpens a deep sense of need - for broad, comprehensive protection that does not end at defense systems, but touches on the ability to continuously secure the foundations of our daily existence: energy, infrastructure, and food.

Is Israel truly at risk of food shortage?

A State Comptroller report published in October 2025 warns that Israel's food security is at risk - particularly in times of emergency, whether military, health-related, or otherwise - due in part to the country's heavy reliance on food imports. The report further emphasizes that Israel is effectively an "island nation" in this context, given its limited ability to rely on neighboring countries during a crisis.

The public in Israel is already encountering this vulnerability in daily life: spot shortages of basic products, purchase restrictions, and price increases are concrete expressions of the fragility of the food system we depend on. This is a system built over decades on the foundation of globalization, efficiency, and low-cost supply chains - and far less on resilience, independence, and the ability to respond to external crises.

The need for nutritional independence and local food production is therefore not merely an economic matter. It is a central pillar of national and personal security alike, an inseparable part of the state's ability to ensure operational continuity, civil stability, and long-term resilience - and with it, a core component of Israel's independence and security.

While the threat feels particularly acute in Israel today, it is in practice a far broader global challenge.

The need for nutritional protection is global

Over the past decade, the understanding has steadily grown that food is not merely a consumer product, but a critical infrastructure - much like energy, water, or communications. The ability to ensure a continuous supply of fresh, high-quality, accessible food has become a strategic issue for many nations.

Where once the prevailing view was that of an open, efficient, and affordable global market, the changing reality demands new thinking. More and more countries - from the United States to China - now understand that alongside international trade, there is a genuine need for reliable, continuous local production capacity.

The natural question that follows is: what is the solution? And how do we build a new layer of protection that guarantees security not only at the borders, but also on the plate?

We’re grateful to AgTech Breakthrough for this recognition. GreenOnyx will continue to make healthy fresh greens accessible to everyone, so every spoon tastes like it was picked straight from the field, while pushing the performance ceiling of indoor-farming systems worldwide.

The technology that offers a new answer to an existential need

In the heart of a commercial building in south Tel Aviv, far from the fields and traditional greenhouses, a new national infrastructure for nutritional independence is already being built. On the fifth floor, without sunlight or the need for agricultural land, GreenOnyx is growing Wolffia - the world's smallest leafy green - sold under the brand name Wanna greens®. A natural, fresh food that is among the most nutritionally rich, with an exceptionally rapid growth rate.

What at first glance looks like a server farm is in fact a next-generation agricultural infrastructure - a clean, monitored, and controlled growing environment, free of pesticides and exposure to pests, that simulates natural growing conditions and enables consistent, high-quality, and continuous local production year-round.

After ten years of in-depth research and deep-tech development, GreenOnyx introduced QFarming® to the world - an award-winning technology that redefines the boundaries of controlled environment agriculture (CEA). While CEA farming has long been identified as one of the most promising and necessary directions for the future of food production, it has until now struggled to realize its potential at scale due to economic and operational barriers, including high energy costs.

This is precisely where GreenOnyx enters and changes the rules. The platform it has developed brings new levels of control, precision, and optimization to the world of agriculture, akin to automated industrial production lines. QFarming® technology enables a dramatic reduction in energy consumption, minimal water use, intensive local production with significantly higher output per unit area, and strong profitability.

The result is far more than a technological achievement. It is a new model of agriculture - one that secures and enables the local production of fresh, high-quality, safe, and sustainable food. This is real infrastructure for nutritional independence, and a new conception of security and resilience for the future.

Behind this technology stands an extraordinary personal scientific journey - one that began in cancer research and led to the development of a new solution for food security.
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From cancer research to a vision of nutritional independence

The idea behind GreenOnyx was conceived by Dr. Tsipi Shoham, Co-founder & CEO of the company, and formerly a senior cancer researcher. After more than 20 years of research in oncology and a specialization in immunotherapy - at the Weizmann Institute, Stanford, and Tel HaShomer - she arrived at a deep insight: alongside the essential development of advanced treatments, fresh and proper nutrition plays a significant role in prevention, and prevention is power.

From this emerged a sharpened understanding that fresh food - and in particular, fresh leafy greens - is a vital and essential component of everyone's daily diet, with a meaningful impact on strengthening the immune system, preventing disease, and supporting quality of life and longevity.

Alongside this came a recognition of a fundamental gap: fresh leafy greens, among the most important components of a healthy diet, are also among the most vulnerable in terms of shelf life, supply continuity, and consumer availability.

From this understanding was born the vision to develop a new way to ensure continuous, reliable local production of fresh food - empowering individuals and contributing to the building of nutritional independence and national infrastructure for the future.

Ruthie Brudo, Amiram Levin, and Shimon Ullman: converging around a shared vision

Senior investors, each a leader in their field, are expressing confidence in GreenOnyx - driven by the understanding that the fresh food crisis is already here and will only deepen. In their view, the solutions demand a new systemic approach.

One of them is Ruthie Brudo - one of the most prominent figures in the culinary world and a leading voice in the movement for genuine fresh food quality. GreenOnyx products have been sold for about two years in the delicatessen and bakery chain branches she leads: "This is the future, this is the right thing, and we have to be part of it. We are walking together with Tsipi and believe this is the future of nutrition in the world," Brudo said at the launch of the partnership. The products are expected to reach the broader market soon, through retail chains in Israel and the United States.

Retired Major General Amiram Levin, an investor through NextVision, sees the company as part of Israel's future infrastructure: "Just as Israel leads in cybersecurity, defense, and technology, so too must it lead in food security and food quality - for the healthy future of our children and grandchildren, here and throughout the world. GreenOnyx is an excellent example of critical infrastructure," said Levin.

Another investor is Prof. Shimon Ullman of the Weizmann Institute, Israel Prize laureate in Mathematics and Computer Science, co-founder of Orbotech, and a global leader in the fields of computer vision, image processing, and artificial intelligence. "Prof. Ullman's support for the company constitutes a significant reinforcement of the scientific and technological depth of GreenOnyx. It reflects the vision and innovation inherent in the ability to manage and control a complex biological system through image processing, algorithmic tools, and AI - as the foundation for a new generation of precise, efficient, and advanced farming," said Dr. Tsipi Shoham.

Nutritional independence is no longer a vision for the future - it is a clear need and a vital national infrastructure. In a world of frequent change and ongoing crises, broad security must include our ability to feed ourselves. Israel, thanks to its technological, scientific, and entrepreneurial capabilities, has a unique opportunity not only to strengthen itself, but to lead a global breakthrough. The clear lesson of recent years is that the future belongs to those who prepare for it in advance - and that future begins with the ability to ensure local production of fresh, high-quality, and healthy food.