Imagine a facility where rows of fermentation tanks produce the equivalent of a 10,000 acre palm plantation within a single city block. Palm oil– highly optimized yet environmentally costly– represents the limits of industrial agriculture. But what if we could make it better? Predating modern agriculture, fermentation is being revolutionized by synthetic biology and genetic engineering. This ancient art-science has evolved into a precision manufacturing platform which could replace land-based agriculture and create new molecules. What are the implications of a future where sprawling plantations are replaced by efficient bioreactors, and where biology is the foundation of modern industry?