Costco First Major Retailer to Stop Selling Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide

The Most Revolutionary Act

In another major blow to Monsanto, Costco agrees to drop all herbicides containing glyphosate

The anti-GMO awareness group petitioned Costco, Lowes and Home Depot to stop selling the products after the recent Johnson vs. Monsanto-cancer verdict was upheld. The case set the precedent for thousands of other cases against Monsanto, all claiming exposure to Roundup caused non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

RELATED: Monsanto Stock Plummets After Cancer Rulings

The mom’s group gathered over 150,000 signatures on change.org, asking the three retailers to stop selling the toxic herbicide.

Costco is the first to respond, according to Moms Across America founder Zen Honeycutt:
“I called the headquarters, and after two days of messages and calls, I did finally confirm with three people that Costco was not ordering Roundup or any glyphosate-based herbicides for the incoming spring shipments,” she wrote on her website.

When she asked for an official statement, Honeycutt said she was told that Costco does not usually issue press releases about which items they have discontinued.

“One employee mentioned that they had looked into organic alternatives first and were happy with the results. More than one employee mentioned the lawsuit (Johnson V Monsanto) for part of the reasoning. They said they just felt like it was the right thing to do.”

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Monsanto/Bayer Moving to Genome Edit Fruits and More

F. William Engdahl 
 
Not surprising, Monsanto, today hidden behind the Bayer logo, as the world leader in patented GMO seeds and the probable carcinogenic Roundup herbicide with glyphosate, is attempting to quietly patent genetically modified or GMO varieties of fruits using controversial gene-editing. The “beauty” of this for Monsanto/Bayer is that in the USA, according to a recent ruling by the US Department of Agriculture, gene-edited agriculture needs no special independent testing. The developments are not good for human health or safety, nor will it do anything to give the world better nutrition.

The agrichemical and GMO giant Monsanto, which today tries to keep a lower profile inside the German agrichemical and GMO giant Bayer, is moving into the highly controversial domain of gene-editing of new crop varieties. In 2018 as the company was being deluged with lawsuits over its use of the probable carcinogen, Roundup, Monsanto invested $125 million in a gene-editing startup called Pairwise. The link is anything but casual.

Former Monsanto Vice President for Global Biotechnology, Tom Adams, has taken the post of CEO of Pairwise. In short, this is a Monsanto gene-editing project. In a press release, Pairwise says it is using the controversial CRISPR gene-editing technology to create genetically edited produce. Among their goals apparently is a super-sweet variety of strawberry or apples, just what our sugar-saturated population doesn’t need.

CRISPR gene-editing, a stealth attempt by the global agribusiness industry to promote artificial mutations of crops and, as the world was shocked recently to hear, even humans, as in China, is being advanced, much like GMO crops falsely were, as solution to world hunger. Pairwise founder, Keith Joung, told media that their CRISPR gene-edited fruits, “will speed innovation that is badly needed to feed a growing population amid challenging conditions created by a changing climate.” How sweeter genetically-edited strawberries will solve world hunger he leaves to the imagination. Pairwise also says that gene-edited fruits would somehow also cut down on food waste. One has to be also skeptical there as well, even if it makes nice promotion copy. In addition to super-sweet strawberries, Monsanto plans to use its work with Pairwise to develop new varieties of gene-edited corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and canola crops. And because the USDA unfortunately has given the green light, the new genetically modified foods will undergo no independent testing for health and safety.

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US approves merger of Bayer & Monsanto, paving way for world’s biggest agrochemical corporation

RT

The US Department of Justice has reached a settlement that would allow Bayer AG’s $66 billion takeover of Monsanto Co, requiring the German company to sell $9 billion in agricultural assets first. 

The merger as initially proposed would have harmed consumers and farmers by eliminating competition, the DOJ said. However, the Trump administration is satisfied with the terms of the settlement announced Tuesday.

“America’s farm system is of critical importance to our economy, to our food system, and to our way of life,” said Makan Delrahim, head of the DOJ’s antitrust division. “American farmers and consumers rely on head-to-head competition between Bayer and Monsanto.”

Last October, Bayer agreed to sell its Liberty herbicide brand, cotton and soybean seeds, and other seed capabilities to BASF SE, another German chemical corporation. That deal was worth €5.9 billion. Another sale to BASF was announced in April, with Bayer divesting of herbicides, wheat hybrids research and digital farming business that had combined sales amounting to €2.2 billion in 2017, according to Bloomberg.

EU regulators approved the merger in March.

Once combined, Bayer-Monsanto will be the world’s biggest agrochemical corporation, surpassing DowDuPont Inc. and China National, which acquired Syngenta AG last year.

Monsanto is the world’s leading producer of genetically modified (GMO) seeds, and has faced widespread criticism and protests over the effects its products have had on the environment and biodiversity. Roundup, Monsanto’s most popular herbicide, has been blamed for the collapse in the Monarch butterfly population as well as the “colony collapse disorder” decimating the honeybees in Europe and North America.

The company has also challenged scientific studies pointing to glyphosate, the neo-nicotinoid used in the Roundup family of herbicides, being a carcinogen.

Announcing the merger in 2016, Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said there was an opportunity for both companies to “get beyond this image and reputation thing” by rebranding Monsanto.

Landmark lawsuit claims Monsanto hid cancer danger of weedkiller for decades

Carey Gillam
The Guardian

In June, a California groundskeeper will make history by taking company to trial on claims it suppressed harm of Roundup

Monsanto has been accused of hiding the dangers of its popular Roundup products for decades, a claim the company denies. Photograph: Benoit Tessier/Reuters.

At the age of 46, DeWayne Johnson is not ready to die. But with cancer spread through most of his body, doctors say he probably has just months to live. Now Johnson, a husband and father of three in California, hopes to survive long enough to make Monsanto take the blame for his fate.

On 18 June, Johnson will become the first person to take the global seed and chemical company to trial on allegations that it has spent decades hiding the cancer-causing dangers of its popular Roundup herbicide products – and his case has just received a major boost.
Last week Judge Curtis Karnow issued an order clearing the way for jurors to consider not just scientific evidence related to what caused Johnson’s cancer, but allegations that Monsanto suppressed evidence of the risks of its weed killing products. Karnow ruled that the trial will proceed and a jury would be allowed to consider possible punitive damages.

“The internal correspondence noted by Johnson could support a jury finding that Monsanto has long been aware of the risk that its glyphosate-based herbicides are carcinogenic … but has continuously sought to influence the scientific literature to prevent its internal concerns from reaching the public sphere and to bolster its defenses in products liability actions,” Karnow wrote. “Thus there are triable issues of material fact.”

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Monsanto to Spend $1 Billion on New Herbicide Following Roundup Cancer Link

Christina Sarich
Natural Society

A billion dollars would feed a lot of people for a very long time, but instead, Monsanto will spend this absurd amount of money to build a new plant in Luling, Louisiana to produce weed-killing, and health-damaging dicamba.

In an effort to expand its business after glyphosate was declared likely carcinogenic by the WHO, Monsanto has announced that it will focus on an alternative herbicide – dicamba. While the EPA only considers dicamba to be ‘mildly toxic’ thus far, and it has been used since the 1960s, research does link the chemical to colon cancer and lung cancers.

It is also very similar in its chemical make up to 2,4-D, another herbicide which was recently called ‘possibly carcinogenic’ by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Though while the warnings for this herbicide were less alarming than those for the other-tested pesticides Lindane and DDT, the researchers did still called 2 ,4,-D, possibly carcinogenic. They also reported that it caused oxidative stress as well as a suppressed immune response, which are both known health conditions that support the development of cancer.

Monsanto will likely spend up to $1 billion to create a production facility that can make up for its failed Round Up, which has caused super weeds to grow throughout farms in the Midwest and across the US.

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Too ‘dramatic’: Monsanto shuns WHO verdict that Roundup ‘probably’ causes cancer

RT

The active ingredient in the world’s most widely-used Roundup herbicide has been classified as “probably” carcinogenic to humans by a branch of the World Health Organization. The agrochemical giant Monsanto, has immediately rejected the new conclusions.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), in their latest study said that there was “convincing evidence” that glyphosate in Roundup can cause cancer in lab animals.
 
St. Louis-based Monsanto was not pleased with WHO conclusions, claiming that scientific data does not support their assumptions and urging the health watchdog to hold a meeting to explain the findings. 

“We don't know how IARC could reach a conclusion that is such a dramatic departure from the conclusion reached by all regulatory agencies around the globe,” Philip Miller, Monsanto’s vice-president of global regulatory affairs, said in a brief statement released soon after the report was published. 

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Monsanto Declared Worst Company of 2011 by NaturalSociety

M  O  N  S  A  N  T  O

PR Newswire

PHILADELPHIA , Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Monsanto, a major biotech corporation responsible for genetically modifying many staple foods, has been given the Worst Company of 2011 Award for threatening both human health and the environment. The award was given by natural health information website NaturalSociety after thousands of readers voted Monsanto the worst company of 2011.

Numerous scientific studies have found Monsanto's GMO crops, herbicides, and biopesticides to be a danger to the planet. A review of 19 studies announced that consumption of GMO corn or soybeans may lead to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice – particularly in the liver and kidneys. The researchers also mentioned that GMO soybean and corn varieties contribute to "83% of the commercialized GMOs" that you may currently be consuming if you purchase conventional produce. Monsanto's best-selling herbicide Roundup has also been found to create superweeds that are heavily resistant to herbicides, which are estimated to now consume over 120 million hectares worldwide.

The award is intended to bring awareness to these environmental issues, which are continually being recognized by nations worldwide. Hungary , Peru , and France are among the countries who have spoken out against Monsanto and GMO crops alike. Hungary recently destroyed 1,000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds, according to Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar. Peru has also instituted a 10-year ban on genetically modified ingredients, after a recent test conducted by the Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users (ASPEC) found that 77 percent of supermarket products tested contained GM contaminants.

"Considering the fact that Monsanto's global GMO push has threatened environmental and human health alike, I think NaturalSociety labeling them Worst Company of 2011 is very suiting," said Sayer Ji, President of GreenMedInfo.com.

NaturalSociety is a natural health resource with thousands of free content pages, techniques, and information on natural solutions that are both effective and backed by science. 

If you'd like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with NaturalSociety, please email Contact@NaturalSociety.com

See also:

Top Ten Facts you should know  

The World According to Monsanto

Corporate Pathology: Redesigning Nature and Humanity Part II

GMO Deregulation: An Act of War

Farm Wars

Scotts Miracle Gro has applied for and received complete deregulation for genetically engineered Kentucky Bluegrass from the USDA. Scotts “is Monsanto’s exclusive agent for the international marketing and distribution of consumer Roundup®.” The main ingredient in Roundup is glyphosate. This strain of Kentucky Bluegrass will be “herbicide resistant” to Monsanto’s Roundup, and there will be absolutely no oversight of this genetically engineered plant, which can be used as turf or livestock feed. The reason that this was allowed to happen is because actual regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) was designed just for such an opportunity. The program was meant to fail from the very beginning. This is no less than an act of war against the world’s population. [...]