Batteries have one advantage over over supplies: extremely low noise. Even an good LDO will bump up the noise floor, and a cheap lcsc part will do so too. Plus you’s want a reasonably low dropout and quiescent current, which also increases price. Maybe 10ct in volume is reasonable for such a part - and yes, that will absolutely eat the margin
Centralizing control over food supply in a monopolistic company that sells the seeds it a terrible idea. You don’t want to give a bunch of shareholders control over global food supply.
The technology could improve lives. But not in the hands of Monsanto. Not even if you are buying their product. Nor if you are supporting them on lemmy out of all places.