FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Protests in at least a dozen major U.S. cities, plus distributed consumer actions nationwide, target Mondelēz HQs, Oreo facilities, and retail outlets
Chicago / San Francisco — Today, Friday, March 6, as Mondelēz International ramps up marketing around National Oreo Cookie Day, Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and allies have launched an International Stop Oreo Day of Action, staging protests large and small in at least a dozen major cities across the U.S. and supporting distributed, consumer-driven actions nationwide calling on the Oreo maker to adopt a robust Human Rights Defenders Policy and commit to ending forest destruction across its supply chains.
Action sites include Mondelēz’s global headquarters in Chicago, the company’s North American headquarters in New Jersey, Oreo production facilities, and retail locations where Oreo products are sold—along with smaller community actions in neighborhoods and online aimed at pressuring the company to commit to protecting human rights and cutting deforestation from its operations.
RAN says the actions are designed to spotlight what it calls the widening gap between Oreos’ feel-good branding and the risks tied to commodity supply chains that drive rainforest loss and conflict in frontline communities.
“Mondelēz wants the world focused on a cookie,” said Maggie Martin, Forest Campaign Manager at Rainforest Action Network. “We want the world focused on the people and forests paying the price. This day of action is part of a rapidly growing campaign because, for years now, Mondelēz has been presented with credible evidence of deforestation and the dangers facing Indigenous and frontline communities connected to its sourcing, yet the company has failed to take the steps needed to stop the harm. Real sustainability means standing with the people who protect the planet, not hiding behind marketing.”
RAN points to its 2025 Keep Forests Standing Scorecard, which evaluated ten major consumer goods companies on forest and human rights policies. Mondelēz was the only company to receive a failing “F” grade, earning just 4 out of 24 points and scoring zero points for having a clear, public policy protecting Human Rights Defenders.
Today’s actions also follow a high-profile escalation last month, when activists interrupted Mondelēz CEO Dirk Van de Put during a plenary speech at the CAGNY conference in Florida, calling on the company to adopt enforceable safeguards against deforestation, land grabs, intimidation, and violence in its supply chains.
“Mondelez is a laggard—and it’s standing out for all the wrong reasons,” Martin said. “We’re calling for a clear, enforceable Human Rights Defender Policy with zero tolerance for intimidation, criminalization, or violence—and for a group-wide commitment to end deforestation and exploitation across forest-risk commodities. Communities before cookies.”
RAN is calling on Mondelēz to:
- Adopt a clear, public Human Rights Defender Policy with zero tolerance for intimidation, criminalization, or violence connected to its supply chains
- Implement a strong, group-wide NDPE policy (No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation) covering all forest-risk commodities
- Move from supplier “expectations” to verified compliance, including independent monitoring, transparency, and consequences for suppliers linked to deforestation and rights abuses
About Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Action Network campaigns for the forests, their inhabitants, and the natural systems that sustain life by transforming the global marketplace through grassroots organizing, education, and non-violent direct action.