Johannesburg

On 12 December 2015, concerned citizens of South Africa and environmental groups will gather at various Builders Warehouse location points, across the country to demand that the household herbicide “Roundup” be removed from their outlets nationally.

The campaign will also use this gathering to create awareness around the dangers of Roundup, highlighting the negative effects of its use on both the health of citizens and the extensive damage it causes to the environment. The group will also call for the Department of Agriculture to look into the matter, and to acknowledge these demands.

Statement from the African Centre for Biodversity: “We are demanding that government put a stop to blindly supporting the business interests of agrochemical companies, such as Monsanto, and defending ecologically unsustainable and socially unjust chemical-laden agriculture systems.”

Campaign Leader, Rushka Johnson, has been liaising with Builders Warehouse / Walmart management on behalf of many concerned South Africans.

Johnson: “The effects of ROUNDUP have been proven countless times to be detrimental to the environment and the health of our fellow citizens. Builders Warehouse have received peer reviewed studies linking Roundup to soil degradation, autism, massive kidney damage, endocrine disruption, infertility, severe allergies and cancer, as well as the manifesto signed by over 400 scientists and doctors calling for a worldwide ban on Roundups’ active ingredient, Glyphosate.

YET they choose to keep it on their shelves. This is highly unacceptable and cause for great concern.”

The World Health Organisation has classified Glyphosate, (active ingredient in Roundup), as a Class 2a carcinogen. In layman’s terms, this means that the World Health Organisation agrees that Roundup probably causes Cancer.

Johnson also added that: “Builders Warehouse has been given this information, but still chooses to keep this product on their shelves, which is a cause for great concern for South Africans. Although Glyphosate has been banned, restricted or removed from the shelves in several countries, Builders Warehouse is happy to sell it to ALL customers, including vulnerable minors who may not be aware of the dangers.”

Many families are using it in their gardens around their children and pets without knowing the possible damage that it could be causing.

Instructions for using this toxic herbicide are not always followed by the families who use it, nor do they wear the required protective gear. This poses the question - should citizens not at least be required to obtain a license or undergo a safety-training course before using this poison in their homes?

Household pets are affected as the herbicide is absorbed through their tongues, paws and skin.

South Africans have been invited to gather on 12 December to make their voices heard.

Johnson “We do not want this toxic chemical sold in our family, garden and hardware shops, nor do we want Builders Warehouse to brush aside the concerns and safety of their customers.”

The Organic Emporium states “a growing group of conscious consumers worldwide is waking up to the harmful effects of pesticides and herbicides like glyphosate. Consumers are choosing organically grown food to avoid exposure to this toxin. It would be a tragedy to further subject people, too many unwittingly, to the harmful effects of glyphosate by selling it into household gardens and having children and babies exposed to it.

Retailers need to recognise that Glyphosate is a probable carcinogen and that its use in homes and gardens put families at risk. Many would praise and support a retailer who takes a proactive stance on this issue - either by labelling it as a probable carcinogen so that people understand what they are exposing their children to, or at least refusing to sell it to children under 18.”

Sonia Mountford, EATegrity, states: "For the sake of our children and all the people that enjoy the outdoors, all spraying of glyphosate herbicides should be immediately replaced with child and eco-friendly alternatives that restore nature. I urge the decision makers at Builders Warehouse to have the wisdom to stop the destruction of life on our planet for future generations and to take a precautionary approach – remove glyphosate products from your shelves. I also ask who will be held accountable when the health concerns that have been raised by scientists around the world are finally and irrevocably validated? Who will have blood on their hands and who will have listened to our pleas?"

The NATIONAL PETITION by African Centre for Biodiversity to BAN GLYPHOSATE will be delivered to SA Department of Agriculture. Please Sign and Share:

http://www.acbio.org.za/activist/petition/GlyphosateMustFall

Below are links to Resources and Studies on Glyphosate issues - please let me know if you need more to assist in mobilizing for the nationwide removal of this product from all of our stores. I am also available for calls and interviews. We welcome all South Africans to join the pickets to create awareness of the current crisis.

Thankyou

Rushka Johnson

Joined by consumers, health & fitness professionals, environmental groups and concerned citizens of South Africa

Supported by:

African Centre for Biodiversity

March Against Monsanto Global

March Against Monsanto South Africa

NO GMO South Africa

Organic Emporium / Jozi Food Revolution

EATegrity

Moms Across Africa

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