Since 2018, thirteen major U.S. food retailers representing over $1.4 billion in annual food and beverage sales have established policies aimed at reducing toxic pesticides in their supply chains, signaling a significant shift taking place across the food retail sector. Kroger’s commitment follows in the footsteps of Whole Foods (NASDAQ: AMZN), which announced a pesticide policy in December, 2023, as well as Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Giant Eagle. 

These industry efforts follow a multi-year campaign led by Friends of the Earth and supported by over 100 environmental, public health, farmer, and farmworker organizations across the country. Friends of the Earth’s Bee-Friendly Retailer Scorecard tracks company progress.

“We now understand that biodiversity collapse is as pressing a threat to planetary health and our food supply as climate change. And the over 1 billion pounds of pesticides used annually in U.S. agriculture are drivers of both,” said Kendra Klein, PhD, deputy director of science at Friends of the Earth. “It’s past time for U.S. food retailers to take swift action to eliminate the use of toxic pesticides in their supply chains and speed the transition to organic and other ecologically regenerative approaches to agriculture. Despite this promising industry trend, efforts fall far short of what is needed to protect pollinators, people, and the planet from toxic pesticides.”

Currently, Giant Eagle leads the pack. Its policy will eliminate the worst neonicotinoid pesticides in the company’s fresh produce supply by 2025. Research shows that U.S. agriculture has become 48 times more toxic to bees and other insects since the advent of neonicotinoid use three decades ago. The European Union has banned the worst neonicotinoids while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lags behind the science.

Neonicotinoids and all other major classes of pesticides also decimate soil life, according to a recent meta-review co-authored by Friends of the Earth, making the base of our food chain more brittle, and impeding the soil’s ability to sequester carbon – a critical climate change mitigation strategy. And the same pesticides that threaten biodiversity also harm human health, including the farmworkers and rural communities on the frontlines of exposure. 

Another key approach leading companies are taking to pesticide reduction is requiring Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices in their supply chains. Four companies – Giant Eagle, Kroger, Walmart, and Whole Foods – are requiring all fresh produce suppliers to adopt IPM and to verify their compliance using a list of third-party certifications vetted by the IPM Institute of North America.

IPM can reduce use of pesticides by guiding farmers to use non-chemical approaches to manage pests first, such as rotating crops, planting resistant varieties and fostering beneficial insects. 

Nine other companies — Albertsons (NYSE: ASI), Aldi, Costco (NASDAQ: COST), CVS (NYSE: CVS), Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR), Meijer, Rite Aid (OTCMKTS: RADCQ), Southeastern Grocers, and Target (NYSE: TGT) — have created policies that encourage food and beverage suppliers to reduce use of pesticides of concern — including neonicotinoids, organophosphates and glyphosate — and to shift to least-toxic approaches like IPM, but the policies do not include metrics or targets for implementation.

Leading companies are also committed to growing their organic offerings. Organic is the gold standard for pesticide reduction. The certification prohibits over 900 synthetic pesticides otherwise allowed in agriculture. A growing body of science also highlights organic farming’s ability to regenerate soil, conserve water, enhance farmers’ resilience to droughts and floods, protect biodiversity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, making it a critical approach to addressing climate change.

Communications contact: Haven Bourque, 415-505-3473, haven@havenbmedia.com

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Whole Foods has joined a growing trend in the grocery retail industry addressing threats to biodiversity by becoming the thirteenth company on Friends of the Earth’s Bee-Friendly Retailer Scorecard to establish a pollinator policy addressing toxic pesticides in its supply chain.

“Whole Foods’ policy is an important step in a moment when 40% of insect pollinators face extinction,” said Kendra Klein, PhD, senior staff scientist at Friends of the Earth. “After another year of devastating losses to bees, food retailers must accelerate their commitment to protect pollinators by setting measurable goals to eliminate bee-toxic pesticides in their food supply.”

Pollinator loss threatens food security in an already fragile supply chain. U.S. beekeepers reported among the highest annual losses ever recorded last year. Research indicates that pollinator loss has already resulted in decreased production of key crops like apples, cherries and tomatoes in the United States.

Whole Foods’ policy requires fresh produce and floral suppliers to adopt Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices by 2025. Suppliers may work with designated third-party certifications with meaningful IPM criteria or submit a legal attestation confirming that they adhere to the requirements of the policy.

In an industry vulnerable to climate change and biodiversity loss, IPM guides farmers to use ecological methods that support the overall sustainability of their land. IPM can reduce use of pesticides by requiring farmers to use non-chemical approaches to manage pests first, such as rotating crops, planting resistant varieties and fostering beneficial insects.

The policy also encourages produce suppliers to phase out the use of the most concerning neonicotinoid pesticides. Research shows that U.S. agriculture has become 48 times more toxic to bees and other insects since the advent of neonicotinoid use three decades ago. In addition, the policy prohibits the use of nitroguanidine neonicotinoids in potted plants – a move aligning the company with the over 140 garden retailers and plant nurseries that have made similar commitments.

Whole Foods’ policy highlights the importance of organic production in the protection of pollinators, stating that the company has “long championed pollinator health through our commitment to organic production.” Organic agriculture is based on robust IPM practices, and the organic certification prohibits the use of over 900 pesticides, including those of highest concern for the health of pollinators and people, such as neonicotinoids, organophosphates and glyphosate. Research shows that organic farming can help pollinators thrive.

The same pesticides that threaten pollinators also harm human health, including the farmworkers and rural communities on the frontlines of exposure. These widely used chemicals also threaten the soil life that is central to regenerative farming approaches that enhance farmers’ resilience to climate change, conserve water and improve soil’s ability to sequester carbon.

Expert Contact: Kendra Klein, Friends of the Earth, 415-350-5957, Kklein@foe.org

Communications Contact: Haven Bourque, 415-505-3473, haven@havenbmedia.com

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The same pesticides that threaten biodiversity are also linked to climate change. They are petrochemicals that are energy-intensive to produce, and they threaten the soil organisms that are central to building healthy soils that can sequester carbon and enhance farmers’ resilience to climate change. They also harm human health, including farmworkers and rural communities on the frontlines of exposure.   

While Giant Eagle improved its score from a B to B+ this year, four companies lost points for not reporting meaningful progress toward meeting the goals stated in their pollinator health policies: Albertsons (NYSE: ACI), Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD), and Target (NYSE: TGT). 

Giant Eagle is the only major U.S. food retailer to make a timebound commitment to eliminate key pesticides of concern in part of its supply chain. According to the company’s policy, it will eliminate the use of nitroguanidine neonicotinoids — banned in the EU since 2018 but still allowed in the U.S. — from its produce supply chain by 2025. Research shows that U.S. agriculture has become 48 times more toxic to bees and other beneficial insects since neonicotinoids were introduced in the 1990s.  

“Amid rising concern about an insect apocalypse decimating the small but mighty pollinators responsible for one in three bites of food we eat, grocery retailers are beginning to step up to address the pervasive use of toxic pesticides in their supply chains,” said Kendra Klein, deputy director of science at Friends of the Earth. “But bees are dying at astonishing rates. Retailers must take immediate, measurable action to address their role in the biodiversity crisis.” 

Food retailers have significant economic power to change the food system. Together, the 25 evaluated companies control over $1.78 trillion in food and beverage sales annually. The four largest — Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Costco and Kroger (NYSE: KR) — controlled $1.02 trillion in 2022.    

The Scorecard also evaluates companies on organic offerings. Organic regulations prohibit the use of over 900 synthetic pesticides, including highly hazardous chemicals like neonicotinoids, organophosphates and glyphosate. Only two of the companies — Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s — have organic offerings that exceed 15% of overall sales, a goal Friends of the Earth is asking all major retailers to meet by 2025.  

Pollinators are a cornerstone to a dependable food supply, contributing approximately $34 billion to the U.S. economy and up to $577 billion to the global economy annually. Research indicates that pollinator loss has already resulted in decreased production of crops like apples and cherries.  

The Bee-Friendly Retailer campaign is supported by over 100 beekeeping, farming, farmworker, consumer and environmental organizations, including Campaign for Healthier Solutions, which works with the dollar stores on phasing out harmful chemicals. 

Expert contact: Kendra Klein, PhD, (415) 350-5957, kklein@foe.org 
Communications contact: Haven Bourque, (415) 505-3473, haven@havenbmedia.com  

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This letter is a response to ongoing attempts by the pesticide industry to incorporate the language of HR7266, introduced last session by former Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL), into the upcoming Farm Bill. The Farm Bill conference committee rejected similar efforts by the pesticide industry during 2018 Farm Bill deliberations. Local officials are urging the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to produce a clean Farm Bill that does not undermine the authority of local communities wishing to protect public health and the environment. The letter is signed by 118 elected officials in 62 communities from 20 states and the District of Columbia.

“This fight is about more than toxic pesticides,” said Drew Toher, community resource and policy director with Beyond Pesticides. “It’s about local democracy. The letter acknowledges that not every local lawmaker may support action on pesticides, but they strongly oppose forfeiting the authority to protect their constituent’s health and wellbeing.”

“Our democratically elected leaders are keenly aware of the threat pesticides pose to our communities, while the pesticide industry wants a free pass to poison us,” said Jason Davidson, Senior Food and Agriculture Campaigner with Friends of the Earth. “We must not let corporations take away our right to protect ourselves. Congress must put the health of people and the planet over corporate profits and stop Big Ag’s latest power grab.”

Local officials added the following:

Mayor Daniel Biss, City of Evanston, IL: “It is critical that local governments have tools to protect the health of our residents and safeguard our environment. The federal government should not tie the hands of local lawmakers aiming to address ongoing crises relating to health, biodiversity and climate change. Congress should be expanding the authorities available to local governments to address these concerns, not limiting them.”

Mayor Aaron Brockett, City of Boulder, CO: “There is increasing scientific evidence showing that pesticides harm human health, threaten biodiversity and weaken the natural systems upon which human survival depends. Local governments need to be given the ability to make decisions about how to best protect their community, their children, and the natural world from these toxic substances.”

Councilwoman Sara Continenza, South Euclid, OH: “As Councilwoman in South Euclid Ohio, I am opposed of any sort of preemption of home rule, particularly as it relates to the ability of municipalities to regulate chemicals that are dangerous to our health, our environment, and our communities. In South Euclid, we passed an ordinance banning pesticides on public property due to the extensive evidence of the harm it causes. There are extensive options for natural products and practices that can regulate pests and fungi without causing harmful green algae blooms in our lakes or creating toxic hazards to humans and pets. Our environment is already struggling with the toxicity caused by industry, the train derailment in East Palestine, and more. We need to be doing whatever we can to clean up our environment, not further toxify it. Please oppose the federal pesticide preemption in the 2023 Farm Bill — this preemption only further damages our environment and trust in our government.”

Contacts:

Drew Toher, Beyond Pesticides, dtoher@beyondpesticides.org, (202) 543-5450

Jason Davidson, Friends of the Earth, jdavidson@foe.org, (202) 222-0738

Shaye Skiff, Friends of the Earth, kskiff@foe.org, (202) 222-0723

The post Over 115 Local Officials Ask Congress to Reject Federal Preemption of Local Authority on Pesticides in the Farm Bill appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

The report also reveals the astroturf operations as well as front groups, professors, journalists, and others that Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) relied on to protect its profits from glyphosate despite decades of science linking the toxic chemical to cancer, reproductive impacts, and other serious health concerns. 

The analysis draws from thousands of pages of internal corporate documents released during lawsuits brought by farmers, groundskeepers, and everyday gardeners suing Monsanto over allegations that exposure to Roundup caused them to develop cancer; as well as documents obtained through public records requests in a years-long investigation by U.S. Right to Know, a public interest research group. 

“The pesticide industry is not just following in the footsteps of Big Tobacco and Big Oil, they co-wrote the playbook — from their attacks on Silent Spring author Rachel Carson 60 years ago to the recent Monsanto-led assault on the cancer researchers of the World Health Organization,” said Stacy Malkan, lead author of the report and co-founder of U.S. Right to Know. 

“This case study provides an important window into how one company worked with many partners across the pesticide and processed food industries, academia, PR firms, and various front groups to sell the world on a toxic pesticide. These disinformation tactics are critical to understand because they have been used to push the entwined myths that we need pesticides to ‘feed the world’ and that they are totally safe,” said author and advocate Anna Lappé who contributed to the report. 

Key takeaways include: 

• Monsanto employees ghostwrote scientific papers on the safety of glyphosate and strategized how to discredit journalists raising concerns about the pesticide.
• Major universities, including UC Davis and University of Florida, played a significant role in legitimizing and amplifying pesticide industry product-defense efforts. 
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Cornell University, and the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the world’s most prestigious scientific organizations, also provided essential aid and cover for pesticide industry propaganda.
• Key Monsanto-connected front groups that led attacks on scientists and journalists (Genetic Literacy Project and American Council on Science and Health) frequently push industry messaging to the top of the Google News search. 
• Pesticide industry propaganda is a huge business: 
  • Seven of the front groups named in Monsanto’s documents spent $76 million over a five-year period to push corporate disinformation, including attacks on scientists.
  • Six industry trade groups named in Monsanto’s PR documents spent more than $1.3 billion over the same five year period, including for PR and lobbying to influence regulation over glyphosate. 

“Pesticide companies fight tooth and nail to keep their toxic products on the market, and the public pays for their deceit with our health and our lives,” said Kendra Klein, PhD, Deputy Director of Science with Friends of the Earth who also contributed to the report. “Meanwhile, the rampant use of toxic pesticides is unraveling the web of life as bees, birds, and other critical biodiversity face increasing threats of extinction. The ‘silent spring’ that Rachel Carson warned of six decades ago is here.”

Media contact: Haven Bourque, haven@havenbmedia.com, 415-505-3473
Expert contact: Stacy Malkan, stacy@usrtk.org, 510-542-9224

The post New Report Reveals Pesticide Industry’s Disinformation and Science Denial Playbook appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Merchants of Poison, a report from U.S. Right to Know in collaboration with Friends of the Earth and Real Food Media, uncovers the disinformation strategies that allow pesticide companies like Bayer-Monsanto to keep profiting off of toxic products even while evidence mounts that these chemicals are costing people their lives, damaging children’s developing brains, threatening endangered species, and more.    

Like Big Oil and Big Tobacco, pesticide companies spend millions on deceitful strategies to keep their hazardous products unregulated. In fact, the report reveals that, in some cases, the very same people and organizations are spreading disinformation for the pesticide, tobacco and fossil fuel industries. 

Read the full report
Read the press release

What’s at Stake: Health, Climate and Biodiversity
Tactic 1: Corrupting Science
Tactic 2: Co-opting Academica
Tactic 3: Cultivating Third Party Allies
Tactic 4: Tracking and Attacking Scientists, Journalists and Influencers
Tactic 5: Weaponizing the Web
Debunking the Myth That Pesticides Are Safe and Necessary
What Can We Do? 

Merchants of Poison details how pesticide giant Monsanto spent millions on deceptive communications strategies to convince the public that the world’s most widely used herbicide, Roundup, is “as safe as table salt.” Yet its main ingredient, glyphosate, was flagged as having the potential to cause cancer as far back as 1984 by a scientist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  

The story of Roundup is not unique. It is just one of dozens of toxic pesticides that the pesticide industry has effectively kept on the market despite clear scientific evidence of harm. In fact, the EPA has approved use of over 80 pesticides that are banned in other countries.  

As research reveals ever more about the serious threats pesticides pose to biodiversity and public health — and also shows how pesticides lead to resistant weeds and pests that plague farmers and reduce crop yields — the industry’s spin efforts have become increasingly brazen.  

 When we dissipate the industry fog around claims that we need pesticides to “feed the world,” we see that expert consensus around the globe shows that we need to rapidly transition away from pesticide-intensive agriculture to organic and other agroecological approaches in order to feed all people now and into the future. That is because pesticides pose a grave threat to the soil, water, climate, pollinators and other biodiversity we depend on to grow food. As one example, commonly used pesticides have made U.S. agriculture 48 times more toxic to pollinators and other beneficial insects in the past two decades. 

We all have the right to food that is free of toxic pesticides. The farmers and farmworkers who grow our nation’s food, and their communities, have a right to not be exposed day in and day out to chemicals linked to cancer, asthma, reproductive and developmental harm and other serious health problems. And the way we grow food should protect rather than harm the ecosystems that sustain all life. 

Related Resources 

Spinning Food: How food industry front groups and covert communications are shaping the story of food
Follow the Honey: 7 ways pesticide companies are spinning the bee crisis to protect profits
Buzz Kill: How industry is clipping the wings of bee protection efforts across the U.S.
Farming for the Future: Organic and agroecological solutions to feed the world 

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But human activities are contributing to bees’ habitat destruction and consequently their decline. Climate change is exacerbating the impacts even further. Since bees are a keystone species that are vital for many ecosystems, their declining populations affect humans and wildlife, too. 

Why are bees losing their habitats? 

There are several key drivers of habitat loss for bees. Each of the reasons listed below is intensified by human activities and development, leaving the bees struggling to find places to live, eat, and reproduce. 

Agriculture and intensive farming 

As the increase in large-scale agriculture ramps up, the expansion of intensive agricultural practices has utilized more land to grow crops. Natural bee habitats like grasslands and prairies are being destroyed and plowed to make room for farming and other agricultural industries. This land use change has taken away the resources that bees need for nesting, overwintering, and foraging. 

Not only is land use change affecting bees, but so is the widespread use of dangerous pesticides in agriculture. These harmful chemicals can disrupt bees’ navigational abilities, unsettle their gut health, make them more susceptible to disease, and even kill them outright. The same agricultural pesticides used to grow food are making their way into our bodies, too. Many commonly used pesticides are linked to cancer and disease in humans. 

Urban sprawl

Urban areas are continuing to expand into larger geographical boundaries, and more natural environments are being destroyed to make space. The development of these areas has adverse impacts on bees, taking away vast swaths of their habitat and displacing them from their homes. 

Climate change

As our climate changes, previously suitable habitats for bees can no longer sustain their survival. Increased natural disasters and deforestation due to climate change are destroying some habitats, while others have become unlivable as a result of changing temperatures. 

Consequences of habitat destruction

Habitat destruction can lead to several stressors for bees. The consequences of it include: 

Loss of food source

Bees rely on their habitats to find adequate nutrition, which they get from flowering plants in their natural ecosystems. When bees lose their habitats, they also lose their food source.  

Disease

Nutritional stress can also make bees more susceptible to disease. Malnourishment makes it harder for them to fight illness in general, but certain diseases can even use up nutrition that bees can’t afford to lose, especially in a food limited environment.  

Reproduction

Habitat destruction takes away places for bees to reproduce. If they don’t have the ability to build up their population, it’s impossible for bees to rebound from other stressors that are causing their decline.  

Nesting and overwintering

Without their habitats, bees lose crucial protection for nesting and overwintering periods. This makes it harder for them to survive winters and can expose them to other dangers year-round, like predation and conflict with humans over habitats. 

As humans continue to expand into bees’ habitats, it opens the door for more conflict between bees and humans. Many people fear bees or see them as pests that should be eradicated from areas near human living spaces (like backyards). This leads to people killing bees in areas that used to be their homes. But bees are facing too much stress already, and climate change is making it even worse. 

How does climate change affect bees?

Climate change can have devastating impacts for bees. Higher rates of natural disasters and increased extreme weather events are just a few consequences of climate change that can have implications for bee habitats.  

Rising Temperatures

Rising temperatures as a result of climate change can make habitats too hot for some bee species to survive. In high temperatures, queen bees stop laying eggs and male bees die from heat stress. To escape the heat, bees tend to cluster outside of the hive to try to stay cool, but in increasingly prevalent extreme conditions, these efforts aren’t enough.  

Seasonality

Unseasonable heat and cold can also have impacts on bee behavior; the times of year bees are typically active may no longer line up with the times that the plants they rely on start to blossom. That leaves bees without adequate nutrition during their active months. 

Natural Disasters

As natural disasters like droughts, wildfires, and hurricanes become more severe and frequent due to climate change, more bee habitats are being destroyed altogether.  

Disease

In addition to temperature stress, climate change can also worsen disease and open the door to more widespread illness among bee populations. Certain parasites thrive under higher temperatures, meaning they are more prevalent as a result of climate change. That increases the risk of bees being infected by them, especially when they are already under other environmental stresses. 

Importance of bees in our ecosystem

Many bees are keystone species, meaning that they are vital to the health of their entire ecosystems. Pollinators are responsible for the growth of an abundance of flowering plants that provide nutrition to countless species in our environment. Without bees and other pollinators, those plants wouldn’t be able to grow and thrive, which would lead to food shortages for the animals that depend on them for energy. In turn, those animals would also feel the impacts among their populations. Without a reliable food source, their numbers would decline, starting a domino effect up the rest of the food chain. That means the animals that prey on plant-dependent animals would also lose their food source. 

While that might seem hard to imagine, consider this scenario: A rabbit relies on bees to pollinate the foods that it eats. If there becomes a shortage of food for the rabbits, their populations will decline. But predators like hawks and foxes require rabbits and other prey to sustain themselves. And if there’s not enough rabbits to sustain them, in turn their populations will decline. As you can see, the impacts of losing pollinators could reverberate throughout the ecosystem. 

Why do we need bees? 

Bees pollinate several types of ecosystems throughout North America. The Sonoran Desert Bee predominantly pollinates plants in desert environments, while Eastern Bumble Bees live in the eastern forests of North America. Across the continent, bees and other pollinators promote growth of all types of trees and plants that keep our air clean and breathable.  

Bees are vital to the health of our planet. So what can you do to help save them? Our pollinators program works hard day in and day out to fight for the protection of these vital keystone creatures. Protect our vital pollinators by making a tax-deductible donation to Friends of the Earth. 

The post Bee Habitat Loss appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

The popular herbicide that lines the shelves of home improvement stores has been sprayed on lawns and used in agriculture since 1974. But the dangers of Roundup are significant. Farmers, landscapers, and home gardeners have filed claims against the company that makes it, Bayer-Monsanto, stating that the main ingredient, glyphosate, caused them to develop non-Hodgkins lymphoma and other cancers. But even still, glyphosate won’t be pulled from shelves until 2023, and then it will only be pulled for residential applications. It will still be widely used in agriculture and will continue to be found in our food supply while simultaneously harming farmers.

Who Makes Roundup?

Roundup was developed in 1974 by Monsanto. In 1996, Monsanto began to sell genetically modified soybean seeds to farmers and soon after began selling GMO corn. These Roundup Ready GMO crops were designed to be tolerant to the effects of Roundup, meaning that farmers could treat their entire fields with the chemical without the risk of losing their crops to the chemical mixture. It made the use of Roundup a logical decision for farmers because it simplified dealing with weeds. In the decades that followed, glyphosate became the most widely used agricultural chemical in the world. 

In July 2018, Bayer acquired Monsanto Company for $63 billion, thus acquiring Roundup and its entire product line along with it. 

Roundup Active Ingredient

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup. It is utilized by farmers, farmworkers, gardeners, groundskeepers, and landscapers to kill weeds in farm fields and lawns. Monsanto — and now Bayer — have long marketed glyphosate as safe for humans and animals, but research pointed to its carcinogenic potential as early as the 1980s. Studies and assessments have led to the truth: glyphosate is toxic. 

Why is Roundup Bad?

The technology of GMO Roundup-tolerant crops began when Monsanto introduced GMO seeds to farmers. The crops that are now available as Roundup Ready are soy, corn, cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets and canola. This seemed to be a breakthrough in dealing with weeds — but this breakthrough came at a cost. 

Glyphosate-based herbicides like Roundup began being utilized at increasingly high levels year after year. The increase in use of glyphosate in the environment caused weeds to develop resistance to the chemical, becoming “superweeds.” This meant that farmers had to further increase the amount of herbicides utilized, which resulted in even more toxic chemicals like dicamba and 2,4-D being sprayed across the country. Pesticide companies have since introduced GMO crops that are tolerant to multiple different herbicides, not just Roundup.

Roundup and Cancer

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a world-renowned cancer research center, determined that glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen in 2015. They based this finding on decades of research. For example, one study found that animals that were exposed to glyphosate had organ tumors. Other research found that farmers who utilized Roundup had a higher likelihood of suffering from various forms of cancer.

Not long thereafter, in August 2018, a California Superior Court jury found that Bayer-Monsanto’s Roundup was liable for a former school groundskeeper’s terminal cancer. The jury found that Monsanto had failed to warn the groundskeeper of the risks of Roundup use, including the risk of cancer. 

In 2019, a U.S. District Court jury found that Monsanto’s Roundup also caused a Santa Rosa resident’s cancer, and another California Superior Court found that the company was responsible for a couple’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Since then, Bayer-Monsanto has faced over 125,000 claims that Roundup caused farmers, gardeners, and landscapers to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other cancers. The company has paid over $10 billion to settle over 100,000 of the claims  out of court and made the decision to phase out the sale of glyphosate-based products to homeowners starting in 2023. It can take up to 15 years after exposure to Roundup for its impacts on human health to be detected. That means that Bayer may still face litigation over a decade after it pulls glyphosate from the residential market. 

Bayer’s decision to stop selling glyphosate to consumers appears to be an attempt to manage the litigation risk of the chemical, not to protect people’s health. What replaces glyphosate on store shelves may not be any safer for human exposure.

Glyphosate will continue to be used in vast quantities in agriculture because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency goes against IARC’s cancer determination and claims that “there are no risks to public health when glyphosate is used in accordance with its current label.” But we know the truth. 

Roundup, Bees and Butterflies

The damage that Roundup causes does not end with people. It also threatens bees. Glyphosate is only intended to kill plants, but it’s harming vital pollinators. Glyphosate destroys helpful gut bacteria that keeps bees healthy. It interferes with their digestive system, making them susceptible to dangerous diseases.

On top of that, Roundup is formulated with other ingredients that can cause bees to suffocate on contact.

And Roundup is also a key driver in the disappearance of monarch butterflies. Milkweed is the only food source for young monarch caterpillars; without this vital plant, monarchs cannot survive. But over the last two decades, 850 MILLION milkweed plants have VANISHED along with at least 90% of the North American monarch population. The ubiquitous use of Roundup Ready corn and soy along the monarch’s migration route had led to skyrocketing use of glyphosate, which kills milkweed.

Roundup Alternatives

Over a dozen countries and many local jurisdictions have banned the use of glyphosate. Others have restricted its use. In the United States, the chemical has not ben banned at the federal level, even though the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has listed glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen.”  As we mentioned above, the EPA maintains that glyphosate is not a risk to public health even though many studies have demonstrated harm.

If you’re looking for an alternative to Roundup to use on your lawn, the best approach is through organic means. There are options that can help you eliminate weeds without having to use dangerous chemicals. Here are a few to consider:

• Look for OMRI approved when you shop for herbicides

Consumers seeking safer alternatives at home and garden stores can look for the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) label. OMRI is an independent agency that reviews products against the federal organic standards, so consumers can trust that OMRI-approved means that a product is compatible with the National Organic Standards and is a safe alternative. The term organic is backed by a robust set of criteria governed by federal law under the National Organic Program at the United States Department of Agriculture.

• Use safe substances like lemon juice, vinegar, and essential oils. 
  • Vinegar: Horticultural or industrial vinegar has a high acetic acid content that is powerful enough to remove weeds without the risks that come with toxic chemicals like glyphosate.
  • Essential Oils: Citronella, pine, peppermint, and other essential oils can help control weeds, but use these with caution as some essential oils are toxic to dogs and cats.

Choose Organic Food to Avoid Roundup

Most of us have glyphosate in our bodies. Glyphosate was found in more than 80% of the children and adults tested by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. One way to decrease your exposure is to choose organic foods when you’re able to. A peer-reviewed study by Friends of the Earth found that levels of glyphosate dropped 71% in people’s bodies after just one week on an organic diet.

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