2026 Pesticides in the Pantry:
Transparency & risk in food supply chains

Financial / Investment Impact Updates

1. While the broad S&P 500 index has gained 40 percent over the last two years, an index of food and beverage stocks has flatlined.

2. Consumers are shifting toward purchasing less expensive private label packaged foods as food prices continue to rise. Consumers are also ditching highly processed, non-organic foods for healthier options.

3. Conventional agriculture’s failed resilience to extreme weather impacts is increasing crop loss.

4. Pesticide resistant and GMO crops require more and more inputs, raising costs for farmers and, in turn, food companies.

5. Pesticides kill the soil microorganisms responsible for maintaining soil health, resulting in erosion and reduced food security and imposing an estimated loss of $8 billion annually to the global GDP.

6. Food companies are getting hit with costly litigation:

   1. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/monsanto-roundup-weedkiller-cancer-awarded-332-million-bayer/

   2. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/us/san-francisco-ultraprocessed-food-lawsuit.html

   3. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2025/07/02/nature-valley-natural-label-lawsuit/84447668007/