The active ingredient in the world's most widely used weed killer, Monsanto's Roundup, has just been classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans" by the World Health Organization. But Amazon is still selling the stuff.
The evidence against glyphosate, the dangerous ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup, is mounting and the bio-tech giant is furiously scrambling to discredit the science.
Luckily, we have a surefire way to fight Monsanto and stop the spread of Roundup -- target its biggest retailers.
Imagine if we could get the world's largest online retailer, Amazon, to stop selling glyphosate. The impact would be enormous. And what's more, this strategy has worked before -- after nearly 750,000 SumOfUs members asked huge North American retailers to stop selling bee-harming pesticides, both Lowe's and Home Depot listened.
Tell Amazon to stop selling Roundup and other cancer-causing glyphosate products immediately.
Glyphosate has been linked to toxicity in our food and water. Wherever it's used, this long-lasting powerful herbicide can be found in surface water, groundwater, soil and even in humans. It may be pushing some crops and species to the verge of extinction, including monarch butterfly populations and amphibians. If we want to protect wildlife, biodiversity and our water supplies, we need to stop the sale of Roundup.
We know that Amazon listens to public outcry. In 2013, the giant online retailer agreed to stop selling foie gras on its UK website after animal welfare campaigners piled on the pressure. And people power works -- after 185,000 of us called on Amazon to treat its workers better and we showed up at the company's AGM with a shareholder resolution in hand, its top executives were forced to respond to us. Now let's get it to stop selling Roundup.
At this point, the only reason Amazon is selling Roundup and other glyphosate products is to pad its bottom line. But this chemical has no place in the 21st century -- and a 21st century retailer should have nothing to do with it.
Lets get the world's largest online retailer to stop selling Monsanto's Roundup now.
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More information:
Roundup weedkiller 'probably' causes cancer, says WHO study, The Guardian, 21 March 2015
What Do We Really Know About Roundup Weed Killer?, National Geographic, 23 April 2015