Costco Wholesale Corp., the membership-only warehouse operating 770 stores nationwide, has reportedly decided to stop selling Roundup weed killer. The decision comes after a federal jury in San Francisco awarded more than $80 million to a 70-year-old California man who was diagnosed with cancer after spraying Roundup on his property for several decades.
Zen Honeycutt, founder of Moms Across America, began a petition several years ago calling for the superstore to stop selling Roundup. The petition reached over 150,000 signatures before she confirmed that the company has indeed decided to cut ties with Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicide products.
While Costco did not put out a press release or make a formal statement, Honeycutt said after calling the company’s headquarters, she can confirm they will not be ordering Roundup or any other glyphosate-based herbicides for their incoming spring shipments. Honeycutt has since set her sights on Home Depot and Lowes, petitioning them to pull the product as well.
Bayer, which now owns the Roundup brand, plans to appeal the California verdict and defend their product. The company said in a statement the jury’s decision does not change the four decades of science that support the safety of glyphosate-based herbicides.
Conversely, studies have linked glyphosate — a probable carcinogen — to a number of devastating biological effects, including:
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Increased toxin exposure
• Disruption of the biosynthesis of amino acids
• Systemic toxicity
• Imbalances in gut bacteria
• Impairments of sulfate transport and sulfur metabolism
• Enhancement of damaging effects of other food-borne chemicals and environmental toxins
• Disruption of the body’s ability to produce fully functioning proteins
• Chelating of important minerals, including iron, cobalt and manganese
Costco’s decision is an important step in bringing down the toxic and unsustainable food system that Monsanto/Bayer has created, and increasing consumer awareness of the problems linked to toxic chemicals, herbicides and pesticides. Costco is currently one of the biggest retailers of organic food in America, and with the removal of Roundup from their shelves, they’re certainly on the right track. With petitions circling and consumer awareness increasing, it’s hopeful that other big box stores will follow in their footsteps.