Girl scout cookies

thatleslie · 02-27-2010, 06:24 PM

I should first say, I mostly support the girl scouts and the organization, what is disappointing is that the organization is not fully practicing what it preaches regarding integrity, health and the well being of our young girls.

In our family, we LOVE cookies A LOT, in fact, I just made a fresh batch of oatmeal chocolate chip! We used to love girl scout cookies because they were tasty and we felt like we were supporting a great organization. About 4 or 5 years ago, I was stopped by the cutest troop of Girl Scouts in front of a local grocery store, hocking their sweet little treasures with such pride. I quickly picked up a few boxes feeling really great about my support of the local troop AND the BIG smile that was going to be on my husband's face when I strolled in with an arm load of his favorites. As I was doling out a few cookies to him, I paused to read the ingredients. uh-oh...hydrogenated oil (trans - fats in the tasty little products). UGH! Really??? I thought they would know better.

While I was still in my state of utter dismay, I contacted the Girl Scouts National organization. As I was shuffled around the company, I finally ending up on the phone with the person in charge of the bakers that make the cookies. She assured me that she was aware of the problem, had already gotten several complaints and that they would be completely phasing out trans-fats (hydrogenated oils) of their cookies within 3 years. Oh great, I thought!

I was so excited as these dangerous oils work to increase bad cholesterol in the body and are directly linked to the increase of diabetes, heart disease and obesity. It is the worst kind of fat you can ingest, its effects are even worse than saturated fat.

Each year as the cookies come up for sale, I anxiously run to read the label, and much to my disappointment, some of the cookies STILL have hydrogenated oil in them, not to mention all of the artificial ingredients and food dyes that some of them contain. When I saw this post, I went straight to the girl scout cookie web site: http://www.girlscoutcookies.org/ to read the ingredients (look in the box on the right hand side of the screen and you will see a link to the ingredients). Darn...more disappointment. Chock full of hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, food dyes and artificial flavor. YUCK! Yet another year gone by with no girl scout cookies for us.

Please, let us make a difference in what companies are putting in our food and what we are letting our kids sell. It will only take a minute to drop a note to the girl scouts to request that they that don't use hydrogenated oils or artificial ingredients in their cookies. There are plenty of companies that are baking absolutely delicious cookies with out these awful and unnecessary ingredients.

Here is a quick link to the girl scouts contact form, if you are so inclined, please drop them a line and let them know that you don't want dangerous oils, dyes and artificial ingredients in these products.

http://www.girlscouts.org/contact/email.asp

Lastly, I certainly do not in anyway want to discourage supporting the girl scouts. Now when I am approached to purchase the cookies, I just offer a donation to the troop and kindly decline the box of cookies. I let the adult on site know the reason for my actions and ask them to please let the headquarters know why I did not accept the cookies.

Just an FYI...here is a link to a brief article on the damaging effects of hydrogenated oils:
http://www.downwithbasics.com/hydrogenated.html

Read your labels!

Slickcraft · 02-27-2010, 06:45 PM

Hmmmm.. Ask a simple question and get a lecture.

We have two girl scout granddaughters so as always we have ordered a bunch and do intend to eat them. We placed the order about two weeks ago and they are now in.

Anyway Realtor ask around for someone who has a relative that is a girl scout.

02-27-2010, 06:24 PM	#1
thatleslie Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Laconia NH Posts: 13 Thanks: 7 Thanked 9 Times in 4 Posts	read the labels!!! I should first say, I mostly support the girl scouts and the organization, what is disappointing is that the organization is not fully practicing what it preaches regarding integrity, health and the well being of our young girls. In our family, we LOVE cookies A LOT, in fact, I just made a fresh batch of oatmeal chocolate chip! We used to love girl scout cookies because they were tasty and we felt like we were supporting a great organization. About 4 or 5 years ago, I was stopped by the cutest troop of Girl Scouts in front of a local grocery store, hocking their sweet little treasures with such pride. I quickly picked up a few boxes feeling really great about my support of the local troop AND the BIG smile that was going to be on my husband's face when I strolled in with an arm load of his favorites. As I was doling out a few cookies to him, I paused to read the ingredients. uh-oh...hydrogenated oil (trans - fats in the tasty little products). UGH! Really??? I thought they would know better. While I was still in my state of utter dismay, I contacted the Girl Scouts National organization. As I was shuffled around the company, I finally ending up on the phone with the person in charge of the bakers that make the cookies. She assured me that she was aware of the problem, had already gotten several complaints and that they would be completely phasing out trans-fats (hydrogenated oils) of their cookies within 3 years. Oh great, I thought! I was so excited as these dangerous oils work to increase bad cholesterol in the body and are directly linked to the increase of diabetes, heart disease and obesity. It is the worst kind of fat you can ingest, its effects are even worse than saturated fat. Each year as the cookies come up for sale, I anxiously run to read the label, and much to my disappointment, some of the cookies STILL have hydrogenated oil in them, not to mention all of the artificial ingredients and food dyes that some of them contain. When I saw this post, I went straight to the girl scout cookie web site: http://www.girlscoutcookies.org/ to read the ingredients (look in the box on the right hand side of the screen and you will see a link to the ingredients). Darn...more disappointment. Chock full of hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, food dyes and artificial flavor. YUCK! Yet another year gone by with no girl scout cookies for us. Please, let us make a difference in what companies are putting in our food and what we are letting our kids sell. It will only take a minute to drop a note to the girl scouts to request that they that don't use hydrogenated oils or artificial ingredients in their cookies. There are plenty of companies that are baking absolutely delicious cookies with out these awful and unnecessary ingredients. Here is a quick link to the girl scouts contact form, if you are so inclined, please drop them a line and let them know that you don't want dangerous oils, dyes and artificial ingredients in these products. http://www.girlscouts.org/contact/email.asp Lastly, I certainly do not in anyway want to discourage supporting the girl scouts. Now when I am approached to purchase the cookies, I just offer a donation to the troop and kindly decline the box of cookies. I let the adult on site know the reason for my actions and ask them to please let the headquarters know why I did not accept the cookies. Just an FYI...here is a link to a brief article on the damaging effects of hydrogenated oils: http://www.downwithbasics.com/hydrogenated.html Read your labels!

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02-27-2010, 06:45 PM	#2
Slickcraft Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Welch Island and The Taylor Community Posts: 3,386 Thanks: 1,260 Thanked 2,148 Times in 983 Posts	Hmmmm.. Ask a simple question and get a lecture. We have two girl scout granddaughters so as always we have ordered a bunch and do intend to eat them. We placed the order about two weeks ago and they are now in. Anyway Realtor ask around for someone who has a relative that is a girl scout.