Petition Girl Scouts to sell allergen free cookie

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JLH
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Petition Girl Scouts to sell allergen free cookie

Post by JLH »

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and don't play one on TV.

LDN July 18, 2014

Joan
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tex
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Post by tex »

Well, from a business standpoint, there is no way that the Girl Scouts can justify making such a change without taking an economic loss, somewhere in the process. People buy Girl Scout cookies to support the Girl Scouts, not to obtain a cookie supply for their pantry, and there is no reason why the organization should feel obligated to support special interests with special dietary needs.

Call me a curmudgeon, but this strikes me as an inappropriate lobbying effort. The Girl Scouts is supposed to be an organization for kids, and their annual sale of cookies is simply a fund-raiser - it's not an agenda for the promotion of special interests, and special interest groups shouldn't pretend that it is. If they want GF cookies, they should go to the grocery store.

At least that's how I see it.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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sarkin
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Post by sarkin »

Tex,

I think the only counter-argument there is on behalf of gluten-intolerant Girl Scouts themselves, who are expected to put their heart into selling something they can't eat.

For pantry-filling (or snarfing down before they reach the pantry), of course, you're right ;)

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S
JLH
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from the original petitioner

Post by JLH »

"OVERVIEW
It is that time of year again for Girl Scout cookies. It is also Celiac Awareness Month and Food Allergy Awareness Week May 8-14, 2011 and for those with a food allergy, many, if not all of the Girl Scout cookies are off limits. Consumers have a choice not to buy the cookies. However, members of the Girl Scouts are encouraged to sell the cookies to learn skills, obtain prizes and be part of an organization. Despite this, the organization isn’t doing enough to support and incorporate its members that have food allergies.

Nationwide, for 2009, the most recent year studied by the Center for Disease Control, the estimate for children with food allergies was 5%. For adults, the number is 4% in America according to the Food Allergen and Anaphylaxis Network. In 2010, the Journal of the American Medical Association estimated the number could be as high as 10%.

Based on these statistics, then approximately 132,000 members of the approximately 3,300,000 Girls Scouts are selling cookies that they may not be able to eat. Additionally, the Girls Scouts are leaving out up to 10% of the American marketplace who cannot buy their cookies."
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and don't play one on TV.

LDN July 18, 2014

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Zizzle
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Post by Zizzle »

I have to disagree Tex. In my community, Girl Scout cookies have become an institution, and everyone (especially families with kids) gets hit up to order them. With so many food allergic and celiac kids out there, there are many kids feeling left out of this all-American tradition (as silly as it is). If Girl Scouts claim to be inclusive community servants, then they need to try and reach the less fortunate or outcasts in the community (i.e. people who can't enjoy their regular cookies, of course!!). :smile:

Incidentally, the Girl Scouts are in bigger PR doo-doo over their use of palm oil (Which I personally don't have a problem with. Better than the ol trans fats! They can't win!):

http://www.bnet.com/blog/food-industry/ ... lains/3087
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tex
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Post by tex »

Incidentally, the Girl Scouts are in bigger PR doo-doo over their use of palm oil (Which I personally don't have a problem with. Better than the ol trans fats! They can't win!):
Exactly. There's no way they can please everyone, and gluten is only one of many food sensitivities that would need to be addressed. Where are they supposed to stop, when deciding what ingredients to avoid?

The argument that they shouldn't have to sell cookies that they can't eat themselves, falls on deaf ears here - I don't eat wheat, and yet I grow a lot of it. :shrug: So what?

My point is that the Girl Scouts, (or any similar organization), shouldn't be treated as a political puppet, or a forum to promote someone else's dietary agenda. They're only the Girl Scouts, for Pete's sake.

Tex
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It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Gloria
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Post by Gloria »

Tex,

:iagree:

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