Shouldn't Girl Scout Cookies Be Trans-Fat Free?

by Cameron Scott · 2010-02-02 13:46:00 UTC
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Even a healthy eater might be induced to have a cookie or two when the neighborhood Girl Scout comes knocking.

But with conclusive evidence that trans fats are a serious health risk, it doesn't take a radical food activist to decide to avoid it altogether.

Which begs the question: Should the Girl Scouts be peddling cookies that Americans shouldn't eat? That's right, the cookie you're supposed to feel good about contains trans-fat, forcing you to decide whether to warm your heart by helping your neighbor's kid or protect your heart by avoiding a notorious no-no food.

Trans fats, which are more dangerous than saturated fats, have been linked to heart disease and diabetes.

The health effects are serious enough that the generally permissive FDA requires food labels to include trans-fat content. But, if the content is less than half a gram, the manufacturers can round down to zero. Such is the case for several types of Girl Scout cookie.

Trans fats are born in the food laboratory from the process of hydrogenating oils to extend shelf life. If the ingredients include "partially hydrogenated" anything, the item contains trans fat. (Missing from the Tagalongs' ingredients: chocolate. It's chocolatey foodstuff, instead.)

Why are the Girl Scouts promoting the worst kind of artificial food?

The organization's mission is to help girls "achieve their full potential." But how can they do that if they get sick with diabetes or even heart disease? Why doesn't the organization send the message that girls can express the self-esteem they gain as scouts by caring for their bodies?

No, going trans-fat free wouldn't make the cookies health food — but even the healthiest eater can gnosh on the occasional cookie, whereas trans fat should be categorically avoided. And, yes, going with real ingredients would make the cookies cost more. But I doubt friends and neighbors would stop buying Girl Scout cookies if they were significantly healthier and a little more expensive. Rather, they'd relish the chance to eat a few cookies and actually feel good about it.

Photo credit: Collin Anderson

Cameron Scott writes The Thin Green Line blog at SFGate (San Francisco Chronicle).
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