Sakata Seed Corporation
105 Boronda Road, Salinas
758-0505, www.sakatavegetables.com
The 101-year-old seed supplier has a key superpower in the industry: a magical green thumb. They supply seeds for tomatoes, beets, Brussels sprouts, arugula and other delicious veggies to a global market, enabling parents on nearly every continent to torture their kids to eat their greens. The Yokohama, Japan-headquartered seed company never uses GMOs to modify or attempt to improve on nature’s product. Yet they’re still a big, successful player: Sakata’s broccoli seed accounts for nearly 70 percent of what ends up on consumer’s tables.