A Win: Never Be Afraid to Speak Up

By Carol Grieve, Food Integrity Now

I am writing this article to share with you an example of how using your voice and knowledge, and being a little gutsy, can effect change! It did for me. It is not always easy to stand up to people, businesses, or large corporations. You might think to yourself, “What’s the use? I am just one person; they won’t listen to what I have to say.” When you think that your voice won’t matter, think again. It might! It might plant a seed, or it might have a ripple effect. You do not know until you do. Never be afraid to speak up!

Several months ago, on my daily walk up our road, I noticed some workers spraying the avocado grove at the top of our hill. It is a large grove of about 750 avocado trees. Avocados are grown in this area of Southern California, as our Mediterranean-type climate is ideal. The workers had backpacks full of liquid that they were spraying in this grove. I asked them what it was, and they said it was to kill weeds. I knew it had to be a glyphosate-based product. I shared a bit with the worker some of my concerns for him, as he was not wearing any protective gloves or clothing to protect his skin.

As you may recall, in the first glyphosate trial, which was held in San Francisco, Dewayne Johnson v. Monsanto, involving a school groundskeeper who, because of his job as a groundskeeper, used Monsanto’s (now Bayer) glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup and RangerPro. Johnson alleged it caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and he won. The jury initially awarded $289 million in damages, which was later reduced to $78.5 million. The verdict was upheld by a California appeals court in 7月 2020, though the damage award was further reduced.

I was concerned for the worker and concerned for our organic farm property, which was only down the hill about a half mile. Glyphosate can drift and can also get into the water supply. I have talked about the harms of glyphosate-based herbicides for years. When I interviewed Dr. Don Huber, plant pathologist, Professor Emeritus, Purdue University, he said that DDT, which has been banned, was a pitance, toxicity-wise, compared to glyphosate. You can do a search on the blog page to learn more about the toxicity of this herbicide.

After speaking with the worker, I found out the name of the farm management company that he worked for and emailed them. I He confirmed that they were spraying glyphosate, and I shared some of my concerns for his workers and the environment. I sent them an email with important scientific data about the harms of glyphosate. I came from a place of educating versus blaming. I was clear on my intent because I felt like if this company knew what this product was all about, they would make a different choice. Several months went by, and I did not hear from them. The property was tied up in a legal matter as the owner, who lived in another state, had passed. I never received a response from the farm management company.

I heard that the property had been sold and was under new ownership. I was on my walk again a couple of weeks ago and met the new owner’s son. I shared with him some of my concerns about the property and about what I had witnessed before with the spraying of glyphosate. He seemed surprised as he said this company had been highly recommended. He indicated he would tell his father about this issue, as they owned it jointly and both lived in Houston. I left him my business card with information about Food Integrity Now and offered to help him in any way I could regarding this issue.

When I got home from my walk, I already had an email from his father. He indicated that he would check with the management company and that they wanted to be good neighbors. I responded and thanked him for his quick response and forwarded him the email I had previously sent to the management company with my concerns about glyphosate, along with several studies and information about glyphosate. He again reiterated that he would check into everything and get back to me.

This week, I got an email from the owner indicating that the management company had told him that the only way to kill the weeds was by using glyphosate, and it was the standard of care in the farm management business. He indicated that the management company said it had all the legal permits to use it in California and on their grove. All their papers were in order to spray it on the grove as approved by the California Agriculture Control, and it was in their legal rights to use this product.

However, he also indicated that they wanted to be good neighbors and that they would try weed-eating the property several times a year. That was a huge step!

But then, just a few days later, I got this email from him: "After considering the various choices of maintaining the grove and doing the best for the food supply as we can, we have decided that as of 1月 1, 2026 we will operate the grove as an organic grove with all the disciplines and regulations to be certified “organic”. I’ve looked at your podcast and read some of your publications on your dot org site, and understand that you fundamentally believe and teach that “grow your own food if possible,” but buy organic if you can’t. This will be our effort going forward, and I wanted you to know…..WE have asked Sierra Pacific to provide us with a revised form maintenance regimen to that end.


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This was a huge win! Next time you hesitate to speak up and think that you won't make a difference, remember this story. Speak up even when it's scary or unpopular. We all can make a difference when we share our knowledge and use our voice. The key in doing this is to be clear, respectful, and don't blame. Never be afraid to speak up. You matter, and you can make a difference.

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