Girl Scouts' pressure to remove palm oil from iconic cookies pays off, but more can be done, they say

Rhiannon Tomtishen, 15, and Madison Vorva, 16, applauded the Girl Scouts USA announcement today that it will reduce the use of palm oil in cookies and use more sustainable palm oil by 2015.

The Scouts began a campaign to get the palm oil out of cookies 5 years ago when, while working on a Girl Scout project, they discovered palm oil plantations destroyed the habitat of orangutans and other wildlife.

In a news release today, Girl Scouts USA said it will use its Girl Scout cookie boxes to raise awareness about the need to develop sustainable practices within the palm oil industry, starting in the 2012-2013 cookie season.

The organization will also purchase GreenPalm certificates that support the sustainable production of palm oil, the release states. The certificates award palm oil producers who operate within the social and environmental guidelines of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.

However, those moves aren’t enough, Tomtishen and Vorva said in a news release today. They'd prefer the organization only use palm oil when no alternative is available, Tomtishen said in a release.

"We hope that today's announcement shows that Girl Scouts USA is serious about ensuring that their cookies don't destroy forests or endanger orangutans and other wildlife, and that they'll strongly urge their bakers to find an alternative oil that is both rainforest-safe and socially responsible,” Vorva said in the release.

“As a non-profit organization, not a food company, there should be no question that Girl Scout Cookies contain ingredients that live up to the values described in the Girl Scout Law," she said. "We look forward to continuing to work with Girl Scouts USA to become a real leader in protecting forests and wildlife."

In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began requiring unhealthy trans fats to be listed on the Nutrition Facts labels on manufactured food products.

Two official Girl Scouts bakers switched to palm oil in an effort to make their cookies healthier in light of the changes, Michelle Tomkins, spokesperson for the organization, told AnnArbor.com in April. Palm Oil contains no trans fats.

In its news release, Girl Scouts USA pledged to pressure the palm oil industry to change its ways. Currently, there is no segregated supply of sustainable palm oil.

Juliana Keeping covers general assignment and health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter