LOCAL

Jonesborough girl boycotts Girl Scout cookies after finding controversial ingredient

by: News Channel 11 Staff

Posted: Jan 1, 2021 / 11:16 PM EST / Updated: Jan 2, 2021 / 12:00 AM EST

JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) — Fourteen-year-old Olivia Chaffin did as many other Girl Scouts do; she sold the popular Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties and Lemonades — even earning top seller spots.



Photo: Olivia Chaffin

Her cookie sales plummeted to zero, though, after discovering one ingredient linked to deforestation: palm oil.

Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet. Instead It Unleashed a Catastrophe.

Chaffin told News Channel 11 she originally believed the climate to bear the brunt from palm oil production, but she later found that the quality of human lives remains at stake as inhumane labor continues half a globe away.

“The lives of animals in the rainforest, and the earth as well; it affects the climate as well whenever they burn the forests,” Chaffin said. “And most recently, I learned about the child labor as well and unfair labor and forced labor. It hurts so many lives and hurts the environment, people and animals.”

The Associated Press dug deeper into the realm of abuse and child labor that persists as popular companies and brands continue to seek palm oil. The AP found from U.S. Customs records along with data from buyers and traders that one of the makers of Girl Scouts cookies, Ferrero, is linked to processing mills.

Palm oil abuses linked to world’s top brands, banks

The young activist said she’s been in contact with the CEO of Girl Scouts, but she stopped hearing back after she addressed the products’ mixed sustainability label. Chaffin aims to correspond with the new CEO regarding the matter.

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