Send a message to Lowe's & Home Depot: Stop selling Roundup

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SumOfUS shared: Lowe’s and Home Depot know that glyphosate -- the main chemical ingredient in Roundup -- is linked to increased risk of cancer and reproductive problems. They know that glyphosate also threatens 93% of US endangered species with injury or death. But both mega hardware stores have refused to stop selling it.

That is why this week, SumOfUs is joining forces with partners across North America for a week of action to demand that Lowe’s and Home Depot #RejectRoundup now!

Send a tweet to demand that the two largest hardware store chains in the world take Roundup off shelves for good!

Not on Twitter? Post a message on the Lowe’s Facebook wall.

And on Home Depot’s Facebook wall.

Both the Lowe’s and Home Depot CEOs care a lot about preserving their brand reputation. They want customers to think of their stores as safe places where you can get everything you need to create a beautiful home and garden.

So this week we are taking out ads in newspapers, sending out Tweets, posting to Facebook, and mailing letters to make it clear that selling Roundup will seriously damage Lowe’s and Home Depot’s brands.

Help us create an avalanche of tweets on the Lowe’s and Home Depot Twitter feeds.

Not on Twitter or Facebook? That’s OK. Mail a letter to Lowe’s and Home Depot by printing out, signing, and sending these letters.

 TWEET

More information:

Common weed killer glyphosate increases cancer risk by 41%, study says, CNN, February 15, 2019
Glyphosate likely harms nearly all endangered species, Chemical & Engineering News, November 30, 2020

Tell General Mills: Remove Monsanto's toxic Roundup from children's food

An analysis released today by the Environmental Working Group's Children's Health Initiative found that 21 of General Mills' oat-based cereals and snacks were contaminated with glyphosate (the main ingredient in Roundup) and all but four products contained levels higher than what EWG scientists consider safe for children.¹ 

The petition to General Mills reads: "Remove all traces of the toxic pesticide glyphosate from your foods immediately." Add your name:

Right now, children are quietly ingesting harmful levels of Bayer-Monsanto's toxic, cancer-causing Roundup herbicide, and the family brand behind this is doing nothing to stop it. While General Mills denies its food is unsafe for children, millions of kids continue to eat these popular products. We must hold General Mills accountable and demand that it removes all glyphosate from its foods immediately. Tell General Mills: Protect children and public health and remove all cancer-causing Roundup in your foods. Click here to sign the petition. Roundup is the most widely used weed killer in the United States, with roughly 300 million pounds used on crops and lawns each year.2 Scientists have documented a link between the rise in glyphosate use and a corresponding rise in conditions including celiac disease, autism, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, obesity, pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Parkinson's.3 In 2015, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate "probably carcinogenic," and a recent study by the University of Washington concluded that exposure to glyphosate raises cancer risk by 41%.4 While Roundup is mainly used on so-called "Roundup-ready" genetically modified crops like corn and soy, glyphosate is also regularly sprayed on oats as a drying agent, allowing farmers to harvest the crop earlier.5 This toxic residue then ends up contaminating popular oat-containing foods produced by General Mills. In its analysis, the Environmental Working Group found that six Cheerios varieties and 14 Nature Valley products contained glyphosate residue – with some foods containing a lot.6 EWG considers glyphosate levels in foods over 160 parts per billion unsafe for children, yet the study found four to five times that level in some General Mills cereal and snacks that they analyzed.7 As countless children continue eating Cheerios and Nature Valley snacks contaminated with cancer-causing Roundup, General Mills continues to stick its head in the sand and deny their food is unsafe. Will you join us and demand that General Mills comes clean and removes all glyphosate residue from its food? Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/general-mills-roundup?t=9&akid=33035%2E3130208%2E5eBg9w - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Olga Naidenko and Alexis Temkin, "In New Round of Tests, Monsanto’s Weedkiller Still Contaminates Foods Marketed to Children," Environmental Working Group, June 12, 2019. Jennifer Sass, "Regulatory Failures = Superweeds and Glyphosate Cancers," Natural Resources Defense Council April 11, 2019. EcoWatch, "15 Health Problems Linked to Monsanto's Roundup," Jan. 23, 2015. Emily Dixon, "Common weed killer glyphosate increases cancer risk by 41%, study says," CNN, Feb. 15, 2019. Ibid. Ibid. Aimee Picchi, "Cheerios, Nature Valley cereals contain Roundup ingredient, study finds," CBS News, June 13, 2019. More Information  Cancer-Causing Ingredient in Weedkiller Found in Cheerios - U.S. News, June 12, 2019 Cheerios, Nature Valley cereals contain Roundup ingredient, study finds - CBS News, June 13, 2019

Tell the EPA: Ban cancer-causing glyphosate

The petition to the EPA reads: "Protect the health of children and ecosystems, not Monsanto profits. Ban glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup." Add your name:

Pressure on the EPA is growing as local governments and other countries are starting to ban glyphosate. We have an opportunity to increase that pressure now as the EPA is taking public comments on its outrageous decision that glyphosate is safe. Glyphosate is linked to devastating incidences of cancer, plummeting monarch butterfly populations and catastrophic bee colony collapse. But despite all the evidence, the EPA is still refusing to ban glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto's toxic Roundup weed killer. Public comments are due on July 5. If you sign the petition, we will count your signature in our comment to the EPA. Tell the EPA: Ban glyphosate. Click here to sign the petition. In May, the agribusiness giant Monsanto was ordered to pay $2 billion to a couple who both have cancer linked to glyphosate.1 That was the third time in the past year that courts ordered Monsanto to pay cancer survivors in connection to the toxic chemical.2 Lawsuits from more than 13,000 others are pending.3 But individual lawsuits are not the solution to the harm that glyphosate causes – the EPA should ban glyphosate now. After the International Agency for Research on Cancer found glyphosate is likely to cause cancer, several cities and counties banned the toxic chemical, including the city of Miami and Los Angeles County.4 But the EPA, the agency responsible for protecting us from environmental harm, is still ignoring the evidence. Humans are not the only ones threatened by glyphosate. The chemical is largely responsible for the decline of monarch butterflies and other important pollinators. Since glyphosate entered the market, monarch butterflies have declined by more than 90%.5 Glyphosate destroys milkweed, which is the only plant migrating monarchs can use to lay their eggs. Bees are at risk, too. Recent studies have shown that glyphosate damages their gut bacteria, which weakens their immune system and makes them more susceptible to other problems.6 No company's profits are more important than our children's health and the health of our fragile ecosystems. Tell the EPA to uphold its mission and ban glyphosate. Tell the EPA: Ban glyphosate. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/ban-glyphosate?t=9&akid=32922%2E3130208%2EEfaIJF - Brandy Doyle, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Paul Elias, "Jury: Monsanto to pay $2 billion in weed killer cancer case," AP News, May 13, 2019. Ibid. Ibid. Baum, Hedlund, Aristei and Goldman, Where is Glyphosate Banned?" updated June 2019. Douglas Main, "Monarch Butterflies Have Declined 90%; Conservationists Seek Extra Protection," Newsweek, Aug. 27, 2014. Science News, "Common weed killer linked to bee deaths," ScienceDaily, Sept. 24, 2018.

Tell School Boards: Stop poisoning our kids! No more Roundup on school grounds

Children play where Roundup is sprayed. 

In the U.S., more than 26 million pounds of Roundup are sprayed every year on school grounds, public playgrounds, and gardens. Recent testing reveals that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, is present in a multitude of common conventionally grown foods, including those served in school cafeterias.¹ Glyphosate has been labeled a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization, and it has no place in our schools.²

As the organization representing the top decision-makers in U.S. school districts, the National School Boards Association has a responsibility to millions of parents and school children to protect children from harm. Keep toxic pesticides out of our schools. 

On August 10, a jury awarded $289.2 million to Dewayne "Lee" Johnson, a former school groundskeeper whose job required him to spray Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller on school properties. Mr. Johnson is terminally ill with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer linked to the use of Monsanto's Roundup and other glyphosate-based weedkillers.³

On August 15, California's Supreme Court rejected Monsanto's challenge to the state's decision to list glyphosate as a potential carcinogen under the California's Proposition 65, a law requiring the state to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects.⁴

Tucson landscaper follows city's example

Tell the National School Boards Association to keep Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller away from schools.

In light of the latest evidence that Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, the National School Board Association must do these two things:

• Issue a formal policy statement advising all school districts to end the use of Roundup and all toxic agrochemicals on school grounds.
• Issue a formal policy statement advising all school districts to revamp their school lunch programs by transitioning to certified organic foods, in order to avoid serving foods contaminated with glyphosate and other pesticides.

Toxic poisons have no place in U.S. schools, either on playgrounds or in cafeteria food. Please act immediately to rid schools of Roundup and other toxic chemicals. Tell the National School Boards Association: Monsanto's Roundup and other toxic agro-chemicals must be banned on school grounds, and school lunch programs should stop serving foods contaminated with glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Katherine Paul, Organic Consumers Association

Sources:

1. "Thriving Communities Guide," U.S. Public Interest Research Group, accessed September 4, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/49496?t=17&akid=216029%2E6090523%2EjuDkQe

2. "IARC Monograph on Glyphosate," World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer, accessed September 4, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/49497?t=19&akid=216029%2E6090523%2EjuDkQe

3. "Jury rules Monsanto liable in weed killer case," ABC 7, August 10, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/49498?t=21&akid=216029%2E6090523%2EjuDkQe

4. "Monsanto loses another court case over its widely used weed killer," San Francisco Chronicle, August 15, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/49499?t=23&akid=216029%2E6090523%2EjuDkQe

One more action: 

Also, consider forwarding the links above to the Mayor and City Council. Urge them to tell the landscape adviser committee and City Maintenance to stop spraying Roundup all over Tucson. 

Read: City Council, Stop allowing City Maintenance to poison Tucson

Information on how to contact Tucson Mayor and City Council in upper right hand column. 

Submit a public comment: TELL THE EPA - RESTRICT THE USE OF GLYPHOSATE

Scott Pruitt and the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are now accepting public comments on their proposed reapproval of the pesticide, glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup. If the EPA reapproves glyphosate, it will enable chemical companies to sell this toxic pesticide for another 15 years. Now’s your chance to tell EPA to restrict the use of this hazardous weedkiller!

Best known as the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, glyphosate is the chemical cornerstone of GMO-based agriculture. In fact, over the past two decades, Monsanto’s ubiquitous Roundup-resistant GMOs have made glyphosate the most-used pesticide in the history of the world. And that’s bad news for all of us.

Public Health

• The world’s leading cancer authorities have classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen¹. Farmers who use glyphosate are particularly at risk of getting the immune system cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
• We are all encountering more glyphosate thanks to GMOs.  EPA estimates that our exposure to glyphosate residue in foods has quadrupled over the past 25 years, with 1-2 year olds far more highly exposed than adults.

Endangered Species

• Glyphosate poses an existential threat to monarch butterflies and their epic migration by wiping out their host plant, milkweed, from farm fields throughout the Midwest².
• Roundup is incredibly toxic to frogs, and is likely contributing to the worldwide decline in amphibians³.
• Glyphosate and its breakdown product are regularly found in surface waters, air, rainfall and soils throughout the U.S.

Agriculture

• Sprayed in large quantities on Roundup-resistant GMOs, glyphosate has become a leading culprit in drift-related injury to traditional crops not resistant to Roundup.
• Glyphosate released from the roots of GMOs can harm beneficial soil bacteria and promote the growth of soil fungi that cause plant disease.
• Overuse of glyphosate has also triggered an epidemic of glyphosate-resistant weeds, one of the greatest challenges for U.S. agriculture since the boil weevil.  The industry’s response to these “superweeds” is to introduce “next generation” GMO crops that can be sprayed with additional pesticides to kill the glyphosate-resistant weeds, causing unprecedented damage to neighbors’ crops and wild plants⁴, a lose-lose proposition for farmers and the environment.

Despite these significant health, environmental, and agricultural consequences, EPA is poised to reapprove glyphosate for the next 15 years!Tell Scott Pruitt and the EPA how important it is to NOT approve glyphosate without serious restrictions needed to address its many threats!

-The Center for Food Safety

_________________

References:

1. https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/glyphosate-faq_64013.pdf  

2. https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/monarchs-in-peril-one-pager--copy_82788.pdf  

3. https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1434/ML14345A564.pdf

4. https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/blog/5063/how-monsanto-is-devastating-thousands-of-farms-across-20-states#showJoin

Sign the petition to the Kroger shareholders asking them to stop selling bee-killing pesticides

Un-bee-lievable news! Walmart has officially decided to stop selling bee-killing pesticides!

Walmart now joins other major global retailers like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, and B&Q who have promised to keep harmful neonics off their shelves.

But there’s one major holdout that have not shown their love for the bees: Kroger, the second-largest grocery chain in the world.

We already have tens of thousands of SumOfUs members who are standing up to Kroger and demanding the mega-chain land on the right side of history. We know we can make that number explode before delivering your signatures straight to the Kroger’s annual shareholder meeting on June 22.

Will you raise your voice and tell Kroger to stop killing the bees?

The pressure is getting impossible for major retail chains to ignore. Over 110 global chains swearing off bee-killing neonic pesticides for good. Consumers are beginning to demand that their favourite stores adopt bee-friendly policies. It’s only a matter of time before they all come along—and those that don’t will get left behind.

This isn’t rocket science: without healthy bee populations our crop growth suffers dramatically and without healthy crops we can't feed ourselves. Corporate food retailers have chained themselves to outdated, pesticide-heavy habits because they care more about their own profits than protecting our food systems. We need to show Kroger and other food giants that not only are bee-friendly products possible, they are necessary for our shared survival.

The SumOfUs Community has been on the forefront of getting neonics out of stores. It was because of pressure from over 750,000 bee-loving SumOfUs members like you that we got Home Depot, Lowe’s and True Value to commit to removing neonics from its supply chain. If we ramp up that kind of momentum in advance of its AGM, we can force Kroger to do the right thing.

Tell Kroger to commit to bee-friendly policies now.

- SumOfUs team

More information:

Walmart and True Value to Phase Out Bee-Killing Pesticides While Ace Hardware Lags Behind, CommonDreams, May 3, 2017
Shareholder Resolution Urges Kroger to Have Independent Board Leadership, Whole Foods Magazine, May 17, 2017

TELL THE EPA TO PROTECT MONARCHS FROM TOXIC HERBICIDES

Scientists recently reported that there will be 22 million fewer monarch butterflies this year. What's to blame? Big Ag's use of potent glyphosate-based herbicides like Monsanto's Roundup is killing off native milkweed plants that monarchs need to survive. Milkweed is the only food source for monarch caterpillars. So no milkweed means no monarchs.

Demand that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt adopt tough restrictions on the toxic herbicides imperiling monarchs.

Petition wording:

(Feel free to add your own statement. That works even better!)

I am calling on you to undertake swift action to limit the use of glyphosate and other weed killers in light of the critical threat they pose to monarch butterflies. Since the EPA last approved glyphosate in 1993, use of this potent herbicide has skyrocketed across the United States, destroying native milkweed monarch caterpillars need to survive. In fact, scientists recently reported that there will be about 22 million fewer monarch butterflies this year.

Please help increase the monarch's chance of survival by reducing the overuse of glyphosate and other herbicides. Without strong EPA action, glyphosate will continue to wreak more destruction on monarchs -- and we could lose their awe-inspiring migration forever. Please act now to save these majestic butterflies.

Facts about monarchs.