If You’re Buying Girl Scout Cookies You’re Getting Ripped Off, And Here’s The Proof!

Hot off the tail end of what will forever be known as ‘The Great Dress Debate of 2015’ comes a flavor scandal ready to tear our nation’s tastebuds apart.

It turns out the Girl Scout Cookies you’ve been buying and eating might be extremely different in taste and name from the Girl Scout Cookies bought and sold in the next county over. The Los Angeles Times has blown open this scandal of epic proportions.

If you’ve ever moved around the country and purchased Girl Scout Cookies along your way then you very well might have been cheated by the Girl Scouts of the USA, and depending on your tastebuds you might have been getting ripped off your entire life. It’s been revealed that there are TWO SEPARATE BAKERIES that make Girl Scout Cookies, and they churn out very distinct products and try to pass them off as the same thing. And I don’t know about you bros, but I’m fucking outraged.

The LA Times put together this interactive feature on the two bakeries that make all of the nation’s Girl Scout Cookies (ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers). Here’s a map of how the nation’s Girl Scout Cookies supply breaks down:

And here’s a breakdown of the differences in cookies. I myself was shocked to see that ‘Thin Mints’ is the only cookie whose name doesn’t change regionally and by baker:

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Two bakers supply the 200 million boxes sold every Girl Scout cookie season. ABC Bakers, owned by Interbake Foods and headquartered in Richmond, Va., has been baking for the Girl Scouts since 1937. Little Brownie Bakers, owned by Kellogg Co. and headquartered in Louisville, Ky., has been licensed by the Girl Scouts since 1974.

Each region’s Girl Scout council picks which baker to use and sets the price per box. One hundred percent of the net revenue goes to the local council. For each $5 box sold by the Greater Los Angeles council:

— $0.96 (19%) goes toward the cost of the cookies, transportation and sales materials.

— $1.81 (36%) pays for Girl Scout programs and events that teach leadership, science, art and the outdoors.

— $1.13 to $1.23 (23%) is budgeted for “Troop Earnings and Rewards,” such as field trips, summer camp, community service projects and books.

— $1.10 (22%) goes toward financial assistance for girls and volunteer resources.

Thin Mints are the only cookies that share the same name regardless of the baker. Thin Mints, which are trademarked, were first introduced in 1939 as Cooky-Mints, said Melanie Larsen, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles.

Samoas, made by Little Brownie Bakers, have been around for 40 years. About 97.5 million Americans don’t get to buy Samoas from their Girl Scouts. Instead, they get Caramel deLites, which are made by ABC and have a milkier chocolate layer.

For a video going into further detail, and an interactive feature on your county + where you can find which cookie, CLICK HERE.

I gotta say it bros: my ass is pretty chapped regarding all of this.

It’s not cool to be sold one product under the assumption that it’s the same all across the nation (and world), only to find out that it’s an entirely different cookie one county over. That’s some bullshit.

The Girl Scouts of the USA need to pony up and force these bakers to either consolidate, or offer their business to only one baker. The two bakers aren’t all that far from each other (Richmond, Virginia and Louisville, Kentucky), so the supply chain really shouldn’t be an issue. They need to go with ONE bakery, and each cookie needs only ONE name. I don’t think I can stand for this ‘Caramel deLites’ bullshit and might have to boycott Girl Scout Cookies until they get their shit together.

So if, like me, you’re ready to boycott buying Girl Scout Cookies but you’re not willing to give them up altogether, here’s a recipe on ‘How to Make Homemade Thin Mints

[The Los Angeles Times]