Study reveals disturbing truth about beloved childhood cookies — here's what you need to know

A recent study discovered heavy metals and glyphosate in Girl Scout cookies, creating controversy about the popular snacks.

Two organizations –– GMOScience and Moms Across America –– commissioned the study, but its credibility has been questioned. According to Forbes, the research was not peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal, and it included a small sample size.

Now, questions exist about the reliability of the study and the safety of the cookies.

What's happening?

GMOScience and Moms Across America found 100% of the 25 cookies they tested contained heavy metals and glyphosate, an herbicide; 22 of the 25 cookies, nearly 90%, contained all five heavy metals, including aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. The organizations claimed Peanut Butter Patties were the most contaminated cookies. These cookies had the highest amount of heavy metals, while Thin Mints had the most glyphosate.

While GMOScience and Moms Across America argue Girl Scout cookies are dangerous, the contaminants in them do not exceed FDA regulations, according to Forbes. Forbes also states there is no recall on Girl Scout cookies, despite rumors of one circulating on social media.

Girl Scouts of the USA issued a statement in response to the GMOScience and Moms Across America study, stating its cookies "are safe to consume" and "adhere to food safety standards." The organization complies with FDA and EPA regulations, it said in the statement, and does not add heavy metals or glyphosate to its cookies. Any contaminants in its cookies appear through environmental and agricultural processes, the statement concluded.

Why are these contaminants concerning?

The contaminants GMOScience and Moms Across America discovered in Girl Scout cookies might not exceed standards, but their presence could still be cause for concern. Like Girl Scouts shared, contaminants can enter food through environmental and agricultural processes, but that does not necessarily mean they are "natural."

Heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury can exist in soil, water, and air where food is grown, according to the FDA, and dark chocolate in particular has been a focus for lead and cadmium in recent years as a result of this. 

Separately, chemicals in a Tennessee wastewater treatment plant's sludge leached into the area's farms, for example, contaminating crops. The FDA also warns industry and pollution increase the presence of contaminants.

Contamination has negative consequences for the environment and human health. Heavy metals that result from industry and pollution can cause "minor gastric problems" to "major health fatalities," according to a study published in Frontiers. Another study found pesticides responsible for immune, nervous, and reproductive system harm present in baby food.

What can be done about contamination?

We can reduce contaminants in food by limiting pollution, primarily through regulations and swapping polluting sources with cleaner ones — such as replacing coal power plants with solar and wind power, as coal has been linked with heavy metals in soil. 

Regenerative agriculture is an alternative to industrial agriculture that restores soil and ecosystem health. Other agricultural practices eliminate reliance on herbicides and pesticides by implementing natural or innovative forms of pest control.

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Alternatives to industrial agriculture improve not only the environment but also human health. None of the organic baby food in that study contained the harmful pesticides their conventional counterparts did, and sustainable agriculture addresses the health of the planet and people, according to another study.

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