“ They didn’t think it was right to do ”

The Girl Scout cookie sale is typically one of the biggest fundraisers for Troop 12026 in Jersey City, NJ, earning them around $ 1,000 a year to spend on patches, dues, and the costs of organizing a annual Halloween party for their community. But this year, the girls – 21 in all, ages 10 to 15 – will be spending cookie season protesting the inclusion of palm oil in popular candy ingredients.

The boycott comes after troop leader Gina Verdibello, who has served since 2013 and has two daughters in the troop, came across a local news article about a petition launched by a rural Tennessee Girl Scout named Olivia Chaffin, urging the organization to switch completely to sustainable palm oil and promising to boycott cookie sales until a change is made. The petition, in which Chaffin denounces deforestation resulting from the production of palm oil, currently has more than 23,000 signatures. (Chaffin and his parents did not respond to Yahoo Life’s request for comment.)

His curiosity piqued, Verdibello explored the controversy surrounding palm oil a little more. In addition to environmental concerns, an Associated Press report released late last month found that palm oil production relies on child labor in Indonesia and Malaysia, which provide 85 percent of the supply. in oil. According to the AP, “around tens of thousands of children” – some smuggled across borders and others working with their parents – work in unsafe conditions for little or no pay while being exposed to chemicals. toxic chemicals, missing educational opportunities and sailing. risks such as trafficking, police detention and abuse.

Drawing on U.S. customs records and other data, the AP was able to trace this child labor to the palm oil used in products marketed by food brands such as Ferrero – one of the two companies that make Girl Scout cookies – as well as Nestlé, Unilever, Kellogg’s, PepsiCo. Palm oil is also widely used in beauty and household products, from shampoo and soap to lipstick.

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Verdibello – who, like Chaffin, was troubled that Girl Scout cookie tins list “sustainable mixed palm oil” among the ingredients, meaning it is not of sustainable origin at all – was urged to take a stand.

“[The AP article] was very powerful, and I showed it to the girls because I wanted them to make the decision whether they wanted to sell cookies or not, and they were all okay, ”said Verdibello, who sits on the Board of Directors. Jersey City Education, at Yahoo Life. “As much as they love cookies, and they love to sell, they didn’t think it was right to do that until the Girl Scouts fixed it.”

The troop is not content to just skip cookie sales, which have started in many parts of the country, with skinny skinny and clover now available for purchase online as a safe mid-pandemic workaround. They also explain why they are not participating and do their part to raise awareness.

Verdibello says she told the girls, “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to have to do everything. It’s not just to say that we don’t sell cookies, that’s a great thing. ”

A press release issued by the troop reads: “Members of Girl Scout Troop 12026 are deeply disturbed by the information discovered by Olivia’s troop. As a result of this information, members of Girl Scout Troop 12026 can in good conscience sell cookies that are knowingly produced by children who are not free to attend school and are forced to work for a living wage in dangerous and toxic conditions, while at the same time, producing a product which, when done irresponsibly, leads to deforestation, resulting in the destruction of the world’s rainforests.

“The kids shouldn’t have to work in these horrible conditions just for a few Girl Scout cookies,” said one troop member, while another said: “For a company that shows itself to be trying to raise girls, you certainly aren’t raising girls in countries where you use child labor. “

Verdibello says she has had “positive feedback” from her community, with supporters offering to make financial donations to make up for the lack of fundraising. Responses from the Girl Scout organization were lukewarm, however. Her local New Jersey wing attempted to suggest some sort of compromise, such as raising palm oil awareness without a boycott, while the Girl Scouts of America offered a “vaguer response.”

Verdibello says national leaders told him they are trying to make their palm oil more sustainable while downplaying the importance of the oil used to preserve their cookies, insisting it is a small trace of blended oil which, even if removed, would not have a big impact on the larger palm oil industry.

“That kind of response doesn’t make us feel better. He’s still there, ”she said.

Her next step was to ask the girls in her troupe to start a letter-writing campaign reaching out to “bakers. [of the cookies], politicians, whoever will listen. She is also in contact with Chaffin and has heard from other relatives and troop leaders who were similarly motivated to suspend cookie sales.

But Verdibello says she is aware that this is an issue that may not be resolved by the time next year’s cookie season rolls around – which could pose problems with collecting food. long-term funds.

“People have been very generous, so I think we’re going to be OK this year and earn the money we need,” she said. “But looking to the future, I don’t know if we will be able to sell cookies next year either. This is a huge problem that I don’t know if we can fix it overnight. It takes a lot of advocacy work. “

Indeed, the use of palm oil in Girl Scout cookies is a controversy stretching back over a decade, a petition since closed by former Girl Scouts Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison Vorva – who first learned about it. deforestation linked to palm plantations and the threat to orangutans when studying primates for a Girl Scout project – has collected almost 70,000 signatures. Their five-year campaign ultimately saw the organization pledge to display a GreenPalm logo on cookie tins, beginning with the 2012-13 cookie season, as a symbol of Girl Scouts’ efforts to raise awareness of environmental concerns associated with the palm oil production. In addition to supporting the use of sustainable palm oil, Girl Scout leaders said they would ask bakers to limit the use of palm oil, which would now only be added to recipes in l lack of alternative.

Yahoo Life has not yet received any comments from Girl Scouts. On December 30, the day after the AP article was published, the organization responded to criticism on Twitter calling on its bakers and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to “take action” against suppliers “not respecting ethical procedures”.

“Child labor has no place in the production of Girl Scout cookies,” a tweet said in response to a mother who said her daughter would be one of those who will not participate in cookie season.

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