Wow…first of all, I can’t believe this conversation is still going on. I never thought people would be talking about cookie ingredients for nine years.

I commented way back in 2011, and am still involved in GGC, going on 30 years, so I’ve seen a cookie or two in my day.

I take exception with a number of things in this last comment. I’m sorry you feel this is such a burden on you, but respectfully…I think you need to get over it.

Girl Guides is still one of least expensive and most well-rounded programs available to girls aged 5-18, and the money to run these programs has to come from somewhere. If not cookies, then it’s coming directly out of your pocket when you register your daughter.

Before you call them overpriced, you need to consider where that money goes. Approximately one third goes to production and delivery costs, and the remaining two thirds contributes to funds at the national, provincial, area, district and, finally, unit level. Sure, you could go to Superstore and buy cheaper cookies, but those cookies don’t support programs and activities for youth. Girl Guides not only creates fun stuff for the girls to do one night a week, it provides post-secondary scholarships, national and international travel, training opportunities and contributes to global development projects. As far as I’m concerned, that’s pretty good bang for your buck.

Most people love Girl Guide cookies, and they love Girl Guides, and with a little bit of effort it’s really not that hard to sell a case or two each campaign. I don’t accept your claim that there is no point trying to sell them. Grab some cookies and get out in the neighbourhood with your daughter and knock on some doors…you’ll get rid of them before you know it. Most of the girls enjoy selling and you can use the opportunity to teach your daughter about courtesy, money management, safety, service, and get some exercise in the bargain.

While none of us really LOVES selling cookies, we realize that it provides much-needed revenue and allows us to continue providing amazing opportunities for girls from every background, regardless of their financial situation.

Put a smile on your face and get out there…you’ll set a good example for your daughter and it won’t be as big an ordeal as you think.

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Brown Owl, maybe you should warn your girls that they may get negative responses and explain why. Get them all to understand the problem and how unhealthy they really are. I haven’t bought any Girl Guide cookies since they changed from the maple-leaf shapes. They weren’t healthy but they were not as sweet as these sickeningly sweet mint chocolate. My teeth ache thinking about them.

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Yeah, they totally should bake cookies, and strive hard to try to make them healthy! Then they can sell them and they would be very proud because they made them themselves! In the end, they could get a baking cookies badge for their sash! Everyone is happy, the customers, the GGC leaders, the Girl Guides themselves! Everyone wins!

I am also registered to be a girl guide this year, in September 2013, I will DEFINITELY ask the leaders if we can bake cookies and be healthy and use ZERO palm oil and other fatty ingredients!

Thanks,

Lily

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Absolutely! Shouldn’t Girls Guides be learning to bake rather than selling mass-produced, over-packaged ‘anti-food’? Let’s teach them how to bake their own cookies using untainted, responsibly sourced ingredients.

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Brown Owl, I would have hoped for a more enlightened comment from a person in a critical leadership role. “Zealous opposition”? “People like you”? “…Ending cookie sales”? No-one wants to end cookie sales, they want nasty ingredients removed. These people are campaigning on your behalf for a healthier world. Why are you assuming they would be conveying their concerns in an upsetting way?

There is no reason why a tactful, considerate and polite explanation to the Girl Guide should not be given as to why a customer might prefer to donate rather than purchase. This is a grassroots protest about the environment and conscious eating. It is EXACTLY the kind of campaign a thoughtful, intelligent young woman like a Girl Guide would understand, respect and respond to.

You underestimate these amazing girls, you overestimate the cookie company’s desire to do what is right. You should consider waking up to 21st century real world business practices, especially in the global food business. They are not looking out for you, Girl Guide cookies or otherwise.

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Good points, Lily. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts here on the potential leadership role models that Guides and Scouts could become by taking a brave stand that actually means something. (And someday, I think we’ll look back on this time and be horrified: “Remember the old days when we had no seat belts on the school bus?!?!” much as we now look back at the smoking section in planes!)

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Why does it take so long to make a healthy, decent choice?

The arguments, for continuing to promote a product that is dangerous to the consumer and to the environment, are long ago shown to be without moral or financial grounding. Others have made the change and there has been NO financial losses. Perhaps the answer is in “Follow the Money” , or whose job is on the line, or….

Is the Girl Guide organization response promoting a value that it is okay for these young girls to promote a dangerous product for the sake of gaining money, for them! And that we should not tell the little girls the nature of the product they are selling, because they are too young to understand the import of their actions? Seems a like-argument that has been used Against Us before.

I wrote letters to try and change the insistance of having NO SEAT BELTS on school busses, and to make proper behavior mandatory, and for a qualified supervising adult to be on each school bus. But, the same STUPID DETERMINATION AGAINST CHANGE continues. A little girl died on a school bus in Toronto, Canada, when she was trampled by children running about on a moving school bus. And they are making bigger busses now that can hold 70 children, with only the bus driver adult trying to supervise and drive. I digress, but to me it is the part of the same mindset.

It starts and ends with INTENTION.

LILY

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Thanks for your perspective Kim – and thanks also for urging GGC to make some changes. As mentioned in a previous comment, “In the U.K., their cookies have been baked without palm oil for some time now (for the same environmental reasons raised here) and their sales continue successfully in order to support their troupes.”

Makes you wonder why North America lags so far behind in what could be a very valuable lesson for the girls.

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I am also a long-time Guide leader and former girl member. Units in Ontario receive just over 20% of the profits from a box of cookies. We NEVER have girls pre-order or go alone to doors; all selling is done in groups or with parents. The revenue is essential in providing a quality program for the girls. Please continue to support GGC by purchasing cookies!

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