This past Sunday, a crowd of leprechauns entered several Twin Cities grocery stores and froze with shock, horrified to discover that beloved Lucky Charms cereals are contributing to rainforest destruction! These 17 leprechauns were so shocked in fact, they stayed frozen for 3 minutes as grocery store shoppers read their pamphlets and green cloth patches describing General Mills’ tragic contribution to rainforest destruction due to the company’s sourcing of socially and environmentally destructive palm oil.
This flash mob culminated a Palm Oil Week of Action in which over 300 groups from around the country took action in their communities to raise awareness of the need for General Mills to stop using palm oil tainted with rainforest destruction.
While grocery store managers were not pleased to see their customer’s shopping experience altered in any way, the beauty of this flash mob was in its message: “Demand responsible products!” Leprechauns don’t want to lose Lucky Charms (or Cheerios or Wheaties for that matter) any more than kids around the world, but we all want to be able to purchase products that are as healthy for our planet as they are for our families. The purpose of this fun and fresh leprechaun flash mob was not to tell people what to buy or not buy, but rather to raise consumer awareness and help amplify the demand to General Mills for socially and environmentally responsible palm oil. And customers in these grocery stores LOVED it.
After freezing for three minutes, flute music began to play and the leprechauns did a jig as they shuffled out of the store and into the next grocery just to do it all over again!
Twin Cities Daily Planet wrote up a great article and video of this fun and feisty action.
General Mills can’t forever ignore the roar of leprechauns, valentines from kids, phone calls from angry shoppers around the country who want Cheerios that are really cheery, and giant yellow banners on the snowy lawn of their corporate headquarters! Soon they will have to step up and deal with the pink elephant in their office. General Mills: STOP destroying rainforests. The sooner the better, for all of us.