Costco is well known among diehard shoppers as a supporter of organic and natural foods, having become the top seller of organic products in September 2016, surpassing Whole Foods for the #1 spot.
The company was eventually surpassed by Wal-Mart and currently sits at #2 on the overall list in the United States, but they seem to be improving by the day, if their latest major endeavor is any indication.
According to several reports, Costco is on the verge of taking an unprecedented step in its retail catalogue, maneuvering toward a ban on one of the most toxic and potentially deadly everyday products in the world.
And this time around, Monsanto’s bottom line looks like it will end up as the “biggest loser” in this transaction.
Costco to Ban Cancer-Linked Herbicide in All Its Stores
The non-profit organization Moms Across America has been active on the front lines of several key health-related issues, especially when it comes to glyphosate, the chemical used in Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide glyphosate.
Glyphosate has been deemed a “probable human carcinogen” by the World Health Orgainzation’s cancer research arm the IARC, and it was even found to be the cause of California groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson’s terminal cancer in a recent landmark trial.
Now, Costco is set to continue its organic legacy, Moms Across America has learned that glyphosate will be banned in all of its stores across the country, likely beginning this spring.
The news was confirmed in a blog post from Moms Across America founder Zen Honeycutt earlier this winter, who confirmed with three Costco employees that the company is no longer ordering Roundup or any glyphosate-based herbicides this coming spring.
“This is HUGE! How fantastic!” Honeycutt wrote.
“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,” her post continued.
The decision comes at a time when U.S. regulators, activist groups, and even courtrooms across the country have hotly debated the alleged safety of the chemical, which has been found in levels higher than the established safety limit in several popular foods ranging from Cheerios to oatmeal, Oreo cookies and many more.
A petition from Change.org with nearly 90,000 signatures aimed at the retailer as well as Home Depot and Lowe’s also may have factored into their decision to ban the herbicide.
In light of their decision to ban the toxic and potentially dangerous herbicide, Moms across America had high praise for the retailer, and urge reader to thank the company for its landmark decision.
Customers can expect to see the changes in stores this coming spring.
“Costco has been doing the right thing in many ways for years,” Honeycutt wrote.
“They are one of the biggest retailers of organic food in America, and they actively support farmers transitioning to organic. Being able to buy organic food, and now organic weed killers at their stores is a great motivating factor to get a membership and we hope that our supporters do.”
Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.
About Nick Meyer
