It’s springtime. The daffodils are blooming. The Girls Scouts are selling cookies. Yes, I was a Girl Scout briefly. I went door to door in the neighborhood selling cookies. My parents sold them fore me at work.
When I was a Girl Scout, I was not aware of issues such as endangered species and genetically modified organisms. That awareness came later. Thankfully, today’s Girl Scouts are trying to change this organizations annual fundraiser from within.
No one buys Girl Scout cookies because they are healthy (just read what Jessica exposed four years ago when she crushed the souls of Girl Scouts). Plus, there is the issue about how much money actually goes to each troop. Nonetheless, Girl Scout cookies are as American as apple pie. It would be nice if they didn’t contribute to American health problems, like obesity, too.
Two years ago, two Girl Scouts named Madi and Rhiannon petitioned the organization to quit using rainforest destroying palm oil. The Girls Scouts responded with the GreenPalm program:
The GreenPalm logo on the Girl Scout Cookie package signifies a commitment by Girl Scouts and our licensed bakers with regard to developing a worldwide supply of sustainable palm oil. Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to assure a fully sustainable supply in the quantities required by our bakers. So the GreenPalm investment supports farmers’ initiatives to become sustainable. Our ability to put the GreenPalm logo on the cookie package provides assurance to consumers and our members that our bakers have purchased enough GreenPalm certificates to offset 100% of the palm oil used in Girl Scout Cookies.
Next on the list of changes to the cookies on young scout’s minds is the use of GMO ingredients. Natural News explains, “A young Orange County, California girl scout, Alicia Serratos, has started a Change.org petition to stop making Girl Scout cookies with GMO ingredients.” Alica’s petition on Change.org states:
GMOs studies (in animals) have linked them to infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system.
While discussing Girl Scout cookies, Alicia asked why they didn’t make any without GMOs. After a long explanation she asks “Can’t we just ask them not to (make cookies with GMOs)”. We talked about why a letter might not be effective and then, I remembered about Change.org. I explained it was like having an idea for a rule and letting people vote on it. If enough people liked her idea, then, maybe Girl Scouts would think about making their cookies without GMOs. She was all for it. So, here it is….thank you in advance for your support.
GMOs aren’t safe and we want the cookies to be safe. -Alicia
The official Girl Scouts’ response:
Our bakers determine whether to use genetically modified agricultural crops (GMOs) in Girl Scout Cookies based on a range of market-related factors. There are some conventional ingredients, such as sugar, which are most prominently available in the United States as GMO. Our bakers are industry experts and have brought their experience and knowledge to the forefront on this topic, and they actively follow the science. For the time being, we feel confident in the safety of all the ingredients in Girl Scout Cookies, including GMO ingredients.
It’s important to note that there is worldwide scientific support that there are no safety concerns with the currently commercialized ingredients derived from genetically modified agricultural crops (GMOs) on the market—the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the American Medical Association all share this assessment. In addition, in the future, GMOs may offer a way to help feed an ever-increasing world population.
I hope the Girl Scout’s respond. The organization thinks selling cookies helps girls with “learning life skills”. I think greater life skills are being learned by petitions from girls like Alicia to bring about change from within.
How we wish a fly-on-the-wall commentary could be done on these girl scout’s vain efforts to smear a little ironic ointment on the conscience of the consumer.
If we could, it’d be interesting to see the adults pulling the strings in the background in this deadly game of vicarious trade protectionist measures against palm oil using these innocent girl scouts as mere pawns!
Thank you Palm Oil Truth Foundation for all you do!
Unfortunately that very pretty Greenpalm logo does very little to deserve adding the word “sustainability” on it.
Rich brands are using it to deflect criticism on their use of palm oil thus giving them a cheap way out of paying for truly sustainable products. Without the ability to trace their raw material sources back to plantation, these brands can’t even say for sure that they did not kill orangutans.
Everyone should know what the ingrediants are, where they come from and how they are procured. We need to take responsibility for our actions instead of blindly participating in consumerism, that is so passe, 20th centuary.
I see palm oil being used by the megatons, in almost all cookies, all trader joes (and others) cookies, knowing this and knowing gmo issues, makes it hard to find packaged foods, choose unhealthy cookies and packaged food wisely, some are much better choices and healthier than others.