Girl Scout cookies like the ones being eaten in this photo have been linked to palm oil plantations which use child labor.Palm oil is frequently used in confectionery, and an AP report claims the oil used in some Girl Scout cookies is harvested using child labor.
Olivia Chaffin, a Girl Scout from Tennessee, is now petitioning the organization to stop using palm oil and has stopped selling cookies.Associated PressAP's reporters traced palm oil products using US customs records and other publicly available data to unearth the supply chains used by huge brands including Ferrero.
The AP spoke to a 10 year-old child laborer working at a palm oil plantation in Ferrero's supply chain. She told the AP she sometimes works 12 hour days, regularly cuts herself harvesting the spiky palm fruits, and is stung by scorpions. "I am dreaming one day I can go back to school," she told the AP.
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