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Little Girls In Green....Killing You With Sweetness??

I hate Girl Scout cookies. Notice I said "the cookies" not the Girl Scouts.

They started just as the first World War ended in Muskogee Oklahoma. That's right, the year of the Russian Revolution, they were peddled in a high school cafeteria. That was just five years after the Girl Scouts themselves got going. The organization is built on the hustle.

I have to admit that during the 1970's I was a Girl Scout and peddler of artery clogging treats, but at least I had to hoof it door to door taking orders and then delivering the boxes of impending obesity. Today the majority of little girls sit outside grocery stores and catch consumers on their way in or out. Not my idea of a healthy fund raising activity.

Soon GSA will be a century old. And they began contracting with commercial bakers in 1936, which may be why so many of the brands began to taste like they had been around for years.

Why do I hate em? Let's start with nutrition: According to caloriecount.com, most get Ds and Fs as grades. Take the so-called caramel delights -- 70 calories each, half from fat. Or the reduced fat chocolate chips....better at 33 calories each, but half of 'em come from fat.http://www.caloriecount.com


Another problem is history. The Girl Scouts were started in Savannah, Georgia as a whites only group. Segregated black troops were later started up. Of course today, there are many integrated groups around the world, but that early racist history eats at me.

Finally, there's the money. By some estimates, the scouts earn $700 million in revenues off 'em. While most goes to local troops, those commercial bakers rake in 83 cents per package.

Not long ago, the NY Times Nick Kristof penned a column complaining about "little girls intent on clogging your arteries and killing you with their sweetness." I second that emotion. Indeed, I'm boycotting once again this year.

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