Reject Roundup
Friends of the Earth and our allies are calling on Home Depot and Lowe’s to end sales of Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides linked to pollinator declines and cancer. It’s reckless to sell consumers products that put people and pollinators at risk when safer organic alternatives exist. We need Home Depot and Lowe’s to build on their earlier commitments to phase out bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides by taking decisive action on glyphosate and shifting to safer alternatives.
Lowe’s is under pressure to stop selling glyphosate as consumer and environmental groups instal a billboard at company headquarters.
Home Depot is under renewed pressure to stop selling cancer-linked, pollinator-toxic weedkiller glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup.
124 consumer, health, and environmental groups sent letters today calling on Lowe’s and Home Depot to immediately end the sale of Roundup.
Pollinator health
Glyphosate is a primary driver of monarch butterfly declines because its use has wiped out the only plant monarch young feed on, milkweed, along their migration route. It is also associated with harm to honeybees including negative impacts on larval development, cognitive abilities, colony parasite load and gut microbiota.
Human health
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Over 100,000 people have sued Roundup manufacturer Bayer-Monsanto, linking their cancer to exposure to the hazardous weedkiller. Bayer will pay billions to settle the lawsuits, but Roundup will continue to be sold for use on yards, school grounds, public parks, and farms without any safety warning. Glyphosate has also been linked to high rates of kidney disease in farming communities and to shortened pregnancy in a cohort of women in the Midwest. Animal studies and bioassays link glyphosate and its formulations to Parkinson’s, endocrine disruption, DNA damage, decreased sperm function, disruption of the gut microbiome, and fatty liver disease.
Learn more about how glyphosate and other toxic pesticides affect your health.
Replace Roundup with organic and safer alternatives
We need Home Depot and Lowe’s to replace Roundup with organic and safer alternatives, not other toxic products. According to our analysis, half of the weedkillers sold by Home Depot and Lowe’s contain highly hazardous chemicals. The good news is, both companies already offer organic and other least-toxic products. Now, we need them to phase out the most hazardous products and increase safer options.
Calling out Home Depot and Lowe’s
We demanded change in the companies’ hometown newspapers! Check out the Home Depot ad in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Lowe’s ad in the Charlotte Observer.
EPA science shows that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, can seriously harm or kill 93% of US endangered species. @HomeDepot must act quickly to protect our flora and fauna and stop selling this toxic pesticide!#RejectRoundup pic.twitter.com/c3mvbF8aEH
— Friends of the Earth (Action) (@foe_us) May 19, 2021
Glyphosate – the active ingredient in Roundup – has been linked to cancer, kidney disease & bee deaths. @Lowes must stop peddling poison and take this toxic pesticide off their shelves for good! #RejectRoundup @MarvinREllison pic.twitter.com/fHgQupV2sW
— Friends of the Earth (Action) (@foe_us) May 28, 2021