The company grows tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables by sustainable agriculture methods on some of the world’s largest high-tech indoor farms, its website says. It has described its mission in SEC filings as empowering Appalachians, driving positive environmental change in the agriculture industry and improving the lives of its employees and the community.

“The last few months have taught us that our food system is a little more precarious than we realized,” Vance said in an August 2020 article in Greenhouse Grower. “AppHarvest will change that, and it will do so by building a sustainable, durable business in Appalachia, and investing in the people who call it home.”

The lawsuits, which allege misstatements going back to January 2021, contend the training AppHarvest provided to workers was “a joke,” that its workforce “suffered massive attrition, churn and COVID-19-related absences that negatively affected productivity” and that its first harvest last year was “ravaged by operational issues” and 50% was wasted. The litigation variously seeks undetermined monetary damages, governance reform and greater transparency at AppHarvest and, in two cases, jury trials.

Source: Indoor Farming Startup Sued for Misleading Regulators, Investors | Food Manufacturing