Eating With The Enemy

One of the saddest days of my life was when my boss's daughter quit Girl Scouts.


I'm sorry to say I wasn't sad because she was no longer earning patches, but because I would miss the coveted cookies.


Every spring, my boss would come in with that giant piece of paper.  You know the one...with all the colored rows where you check off that green box for Thin Mints.  (Of course in my house, it's never just one box of Thin Mints.  It's more like four . . . or eight. . . or ten.  Plus boxes and boxes of Tagalongs (now renamed Peanut Butter Patties).


Then that day would arrive when she'd walk in with her supersized duffle bag and start handing out the greatest cookies ever made.


They went straight home and into the freezer.  Because everyone knows that a Girl Scout cookie is best when frozen.  There's nothing like that first bite of the Tagalong...separating the peanut butter top from the cookie bottom in your mouth, letting the flavors mix together and...OK...I'll stop now.


John and I would savor each one and make them last for months.


Wait...who am I kidding?  John could polish off a box in a night!


Clearly, the cookies are not good for my waistline and I didn't kid myself they used any organic ingredients.  But I figured it's a once-a-year indulgence that brings me back to my childhood, when my sister and I sold them.  My mom would be up all night grouping the boxes for easy delivery. 



Unfortunately, there's another reason why I need to be worried about my cookies.


Orangutans.

Orangutans are in danger.  And it's the Thin Mint's fault.


Apparently, the morsels of goodness are made with palm oil.


Most oil palm plantations are in Indonesia where deforestation, forest fires and hunters are the main cause of the decrease in organutans population.


But ironically, it's Girls Scouts to the rescue!


Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen are two young Girl Scouts who are taking a stand against this.  They have been awarded the titles of Rainforest Heros by the Rainforest Action Network.  These two heroes are committee to convincing Girl Scouts USA to stop using palm oil in their cookies, via letter writing campaigns and presentations.


Girls Scouts USA claim that they can't make a cookie without the enemy.  But I won't eat a cookie with the enemy.


It's good that that famous order sheet won't be making its rounds in my office anymore.


And I won't go hunting for the sheet until the orangutans, not the palm oil, are protected.