Without pollinators, some of the foods we eat wouldn’t be available. Around 35 percent of the world’s crops depend on pollinators, or one out of every three bits of food consumed. Crops that require bee pollination are worth more than $20 billion a year in the U.S. and $387 globally.
Bee colonies are in trouble in the U.S. Over 60 percent of commercial beekeeping colonies were lost from summer 2024 to spring 2025, representing 1.7 million colonies with an estimated value of $600 million.
The Friends of the Earth retailer scorecard evaluated 25 of the largest U.S. grocery stores on their efforts to reduce toxic pesticides in their supply chains and support the expansion of sustainable agriculture. The Bee Friendly Retailer Scorecard found that 13 grocery stores have adopted pesticide policies since 2018.
Sprouts Farmers Market earned an A, making it the second company to score in the A range. Whole Foods was the first to earn an A rating in 2024. Sprouts has a pollinator health policy that aims to expand sales of organic products, promote practices that are least toxic to bees, and encourage suppliers to phase out the use of neonicotinoids, an insecticide that is toxic to bees.
Some Companies Lag While Others Improve
Some companies saw significant improvement. Costco’s rating increased from a C to a B+ because of organic sales and progress toward implementing its pollinator health policy. Costco’s grocery market share increased from seven percent in the 2020-2021 period to an 8.4 percent share in the 2024-2025 period. In 2025, it was the only food retailer in the top 20 to see market-share gains.
Four companies (Walmart, Kroger, Whole Foods, Meijer, and Giant Eagle) now require all fresh produce suppliers to adopt integrated pest management practices verified by third-party certification. Meijer partners with researchers to provide training and technical support for suppliers, whereas Walmart encourages its fresh food suppliers to report annually on the use of nitroguanidine, neonicotinoids, and chlorpyrifos, another insecticide toxic to bees.
Costco, CVS, Dollar Tree, and Giant Eagle eliminated garden products with neonicotinoid insecticides. Walmart is phasing them out. Sprouts, Walgreens, and Whole Foods reported that they never sold products containing neonicotinoids.
Some companies lagged in their progress. Six companies (Albertsons, Aldi, CVS, Kroger, Southeastern Grocers, and Target) lost points for failing to communicate meaningful progress toward meeting their commitments to pollinator health. Target went from a D to an F, along with Wegmans, BJ’s Wholesale Club, H-E-B, Walgreens, Hy-Vee, Dollar General, Publix, and Wakefern. 
The Risks the U.S. Food Retail Sector Faces
U.S. food retailers face up to $219 billion in financial, climate, and biodiversity risks over the next 30 years from pesticide use in producing soy, corn, apples, and almonds. Thirty-two percent of food retailers’ current equity would be at risk if they were held fully accountable for the risks of pesticide use in crop production.
Food retailers can influence the American food system. The six food retailers (Walmart, Costco, Kroger, Target, Albertsons, and Ahold Delhaize) see $628 billion in annual grocery sales. Those six companies represent 78 percent of the U.S. food retail sector.
