Child labor in palm oil industry tied to Girl Scout cookies

An Associated Press investigation has found that an army of children are toiling on palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia. The vegetable oil can be found in the supply chains of popular cereals, snacks and Girl Scout cookies. (Dec. 29)

LONG READ Child labor in palm oil industry tied to Girl Scout cookies (apnews.com)

  

A child helps her parents work on a palm oil plantation in Sabah, Malaysia, Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. Many children gather loose kernels and clear brush from the trees with machetes. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

Olivia Chaffin, 14, stands for a portrait with her Girl Scout sash in Jonesborough, Tenn., on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. Olivia is asking Girl Scouts across the country to band with her and stop selling cookies, saying, "The cookies deceive a lot of people. They think it's sustainable, but it isn't." (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)