Petition leads Waitrose to drop Monsanto's RoundUp

UK supermarket Waitrose has confirmed that it will no longer sell Monsanto’s RoundUp weedkiller. The decision came after 90k people signed a Care2 petition calling on the supermarket to abandon the product. A statement from the company cited the negative effect of the glyphosate-containing herbicide on pollinators as the reason for the move. RoundUp has also been identified as a possible human carcinogen. In May 2015, the chain of ‘toom Baumarkt DIY’ stores owned by Germany's REWE Group said it would no longer carry products containing glyphosate and Swiss supermarkets Coop and Migros announced similar decisions in June 2015.

A Care2 petition, which was signed by over 90 000 people, has led to Monsanto’s RoundUp herbicide being removed from Waitrose stores across the UK, the supermarket confirmed on Friday.

Waitrose Customer Service sent the petition organizer Barbara G. a message saying: “I’m pleased to confirm that the last time we sold Roundup was in January this year. We’re committed to protecting our pollinators and after careful consideration decided to remove this product from our business.”

Barbara G.’s petition stated:

“On visiting my local Waitrose, I was shocked to see that they were selling Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer. RoundUp causes bees to starve and is a probable carcinogen.

RoundUp has been scientifically proven to produce negative effects on foraging bees. When honeybees come into contact with glyphosate, the primary active ingredient in Roundup, they lose their ability to eat and have a much harder time learning how to forage properly.

20 species of bee have already disappeared. It is essential that we protect our remaining bees and stop using chemicals which result in them dying. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, of the 100 crops that provide 90% of the world’s food supply, 71 are pollinated by bees.

In addition to its effects on bees, frighteningly, RoundUp has been deemed a ‘probable’ carcinogen by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said that glyphosate, the active ingredient in RoundUp, was “classified asprobably carcinogenic to humans”.As a retailer, Waitrose has a responsibility to sell products which do not harm people, the environment or wildlife. I shop at Waitrose because they have a good range of organic and free-range food. Selling RoundUp is not in-line with their brand image of being ethical.” Waitrose is not the first retail giant in the EU to have stopped selling glyphosate herbicides in the last year. The 350 ‘toom Baumarkt DIY’ stores belonging to the German REWE Group announced in May 2015 that they would no longer carry glyphosate-containing products. Swiss supermarket giants Coop and Migros also announced in June 2015 that they would no longer sell products that contain glyphosate.