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Girl Scout cookie-selling season is upon us, but this year those grinning children in insignia-bedecked vests are serving up their caramelized confections and mint-chocolate morsels with a side of controversy.



In Chicago, where ordering just wound down, the Chicago Tribune reported that the Girl Scouts' three most popular cookies--Samoas, Tagalongs, and Thin Mints--contained "artery-clogging" partially hydrogenated oils despite boasting of having "0 grams trans fat," which the Food and Drug Administration permits because the amount of trans fat per serving is below 0.5 grams. The issue, as many of us know, is that once you eat one Samoa (serving size: two cookies), it's hard to stop. The Tribune explains that a person who eats eight Samoas "could be taking in nearly 2 grams of trans fats--a substance the National Academy of Science says cannot be safely consumed in any amount."



Then we learned from the Wall Street Journal that the recession has not spared the Girl Scouts. To slash costs and boost profits, a handful of Girl Scout councils are trimming their cookie roster to their six most popular varieties, dropping more obscure options like Thank U Berry Munch and Dulce de Leche (which--yes, really--was apparently aimed at Spanish speakers, to promote "diversity"). The Girl Scouts are running seminars and "cookie colleges" to teach girls why the "Super Six" pilot program makes business sense and how to make an effective sales pitch.

