February 11th, 2012
What kind of hippy freak would encourage you not to buy Girl Scout cookies in order to help save rain forests?
Well, me. But it’s a very reasonable thing. I don’t have a brain tumor, and I have nothing against the Girl Scouts. In fact, the Girl Scouts are dealing with an internal uprising consisting of some of their very own young members. Some Girl Scouts aren’t loving the fact that their iconic cookies contain palm oil.
You may remember my post from last March, Should You Ban Girl Scout Cookies?
I love a Tagalong as much as the next non-peanut allergic person, but I do think that the Girl Scouts need to do some soul searching about their use of palm oil in their famed and addictive cookies.
What’s so bad about using palm oil anyway?
Everyone’s doing it! And that’s the problem.
Rain forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate to produce palm oil. Endangered animals like tigers, orangutans and pygmy elephants need that habitat to survive. Plus, palm oil has more saturated fat than alternatives like canola.
During my brief stint in the Brownies, I kept wondering when we’d make cookies. Maybe that’s why I dropped out. I guess it’s acceptable that Girl Scouts don’t bake their own cookies, but they should feel comfortable selling those cookies that are allegedly baked under their authority.
It may seem unfair that the Girl Scouts are being demonized for their use of palm oil in cookies. Many, many products contain palm oil, but you can help change that.
Speak with your dollars. Look at ingredients and choose products that don’t contain palm oil. It’s an easy choice when you take a minute to think about it.
Do you buy Girl Scout cookies?
(image from flickr punctuated)
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