Girl Scouts Continue Campaign For Palm Oil-Free Cookies
It's been a rough couple of months for the much beloved Girl Scout cookie. Girl Scouts and high school sophomores Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison Vorva have been petitioning the parent organization to nix using palm oil in Girl Scout cookies, or use palm oil that is sustainably sourced.
Earlier this month, the girls joined forces with the Rainforest Action Network, which launched a campaign to encourage people to post on the Girl Scout's Facebook page about their dissatisfaction with the use of palm oil.
Many of the comments were originally erased before the Girl Scouts put up a message stating in part, "Our bakers exclusively source palm oil from members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil."
HuffPost blogger Glenn Hurowitz explains why this essentially means nothing:
...membership in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an industry-dominated forum, is in itself meaningless. The only requirement for companies to join and say they're members is that they write a $2,000 check every year to the RSPO. Being a member of the RSPO doesn't mean your products are any better for the environment, protect a single orangutan, or save a single tree.
The Girl Scouts website insists, "GSUSA's licensed cookie bakers tell us it continues to be necessary to use palm oil in specific cookies to ensure their shelf life, quality, and to serve as a healthful alternative to trans-fats. Many top bakers have tried to stop using palm oil, but without it, their products do not meet quality and production standards."
The girls plan to meet with Girl Scout officials this week but in the meantime, expect no change in the cookies' ingredients.
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First Posted: 05/23/11 01:15 PM ET Updated: 07/23/11 06:12 AM ET