by: Jane Wilde
Humor Editor

As of this year, Americans have sprayed more than 2.4 billion pounds of glyphosate on produce in the past decade. This chemical is proven to be directly linked to the rise of autoimmune diseases and the farmer debt crisis. It’s now more important than ever to support local farmers’ markets and eliminate laws that increase the production of the lethal pesticide.

Behind the convenience of store-bought, non-organic foods is an agricultural system that heavily relies on poisonous chemicals to function. After the Second World War, a new kind of farming emerged, using chemicals directly derived from Nazi Germany’s missiles. Those very chemicals are being sprayed on 75% percent of today’s non-organic produce as a cost-efficient way to kill insects. 

These pesticides are wildly dangerous for a multitude of reasons, one of the most prominent being the risk of autoimmune disease. The leading pesticide, glyphosate, increases the risk of developing Multiple Sclerosis, Celiac Disease, and a plethora of other neurological disorders. For instance, Roy Thompson, a South Dakotan man in his early thirties healed his Crohn’s disease by eating only regeneratively sourced food, eliminating prescription medications from his life. He remarked, “I realized that soil health is where human health begins–so there’s a disconnect between health and the way we’re growing our food.”

Trump recently signed the Defense Production Act that works directly against the interest of American’s health. The act increases the overall production of glyphosate and further subsidizes growers, a move that perpetuates this toxic cycle. This is a tragedy for farmers and U.S. citizens alike and diminishes the trust people have in their food sources.

In addition to the detrimental effects on human health, the chemical demand is causing U.S. farmers to deal with severe financial and health struggles. According to the USDA, they are facing a record debt, reaching 624.7 billion dollars as of 2026. The chemical fertilizer and input costs that large agricultural corporations force them to use creates debt, subsequently causing a significant decrease in farmers.

The Los Gatos farmers’ market is a great way to support local farmers while reducing the risk of developing health issues and consuming harmful chemicals. Nearly every vendor is USDA certified and 100% organic. The Los Gatos community must support our local farmers during this time as it not only benefits them, but us as well.

Pesticides are ruining the livelihood of Americans and causing farmers to go into severe debt. We must resist laws that promote this corruption. In order to reduce exposure to synthetic pesticides and lower the likelihood of developing an autoimmune disease, purchasing food locally is imperative.

Sources: Common Ground (Netflix), Environmental Sciences Europe, Environmental Working Group, FarmAid, NIH, World Health Organization