Far Right Claims Oreo is “Grooming” Children
Right-wing group accuses the cookie brand Oreo of "grooming" children due to its support for the LGBTQ group PFLAG.
A far-right advocacy group dropped a video accusing the popular cookie brand Oreo of “grooming” children due to its support for the LGBTQ advocacy group PFLAG.
In the video, posted to the website of the National Legal and Policy Center, a narrator reads aloud the titles of some of the most-banned LGBTQ-themed books — including Gender Queer, Lawn Boy, and This Book is Gay — in an ominous-sounding voice.
To the left of the video, a large blank space bears the words: “Is your favorite sandwich cookie…grooming children?”
The video launched last Wednesday, as first reported by The Advocate, directs people to the National Legal and Policy Center website, which, according to its own description, “promotes ethics in public life through research, investigation, education, and legal action.”
On its website, the NLPC attacks Oreo’s sponsorship of PFLAG, which it claims began “with noble intentions as a support [organization] for families of gay individuals,” but has since developed into a more militant organization that is promoting a political agenda around so-called “gender ideology.”
“Parents across the United States have become increasingly fed up with the political activism and gender ideology agenda — especially those targeting children — of militant LGBTQ pressure groups such as GLAAD, GLSEN, Human Rights Campaign, and The Trevor Project, among many others,” the website states. “These activist groups stir up confusion about sex with terms such as ‘identity’ and ‘fluidity,’ persuading and recruiting impressionable minds during vulnerable stages of psychological and physical development, convincing them they could be born in the wrong bodies.
“Their targets are often children – even elementary school students. Among their tactics are school or public library activities such as ‘Drag Queen Story Hours,’ LGBTQ-infused curricula, and making sexually explicit books and media available to kids in their school libraries. All are factors that contribute to the sexual grooming of children.”
The NLPC warns that parents should care because the push for greater LGBTQ visibility through these various methods infringes on their right to control their children’s ability to access potentially harmful information.
It accuses PFLAG of supporting the social and medical transitions of minors and the spread of reading material, including books containing sexually explicit text or images, in school libraries, where children can easily access such material.
The group criticizes Oreo for promoting its partnership with PFLAG, noting that Oreo’s parent company, Mondalez International, through its subsidiary Nabisco, has pledged at least a half-million dollars to PFLAG in recent years and that Oreo’s corporate website has hosted a link through which people can learn about and donate to PFLAG.
Nabsico has also previously released “limited edition” rainbow Oreo cookies to mark the celebration of Pride Month to people who have either donated to PFLAG or participated in various social media campaigns promoting LGBTQ identity or allyship.
The NLPC also criticized Oreo’s sponsorship of PFLAG’s 2023 National Convention in Washington, D.C., where the first plenary session was focused on promoting LGBTQ-inclusive books and classroom curricula, including many that “parental rights” advocates argue are sexually explicit.
Lastly, the NLPC borrows a page from fellow right-wing organizations, such as America First Legal, which has sued Target for having Pride-themed displays in stores.
Like America First Legal, the NLPC warns that, through its association with PFLAG, Oreo risks being subjected to boycotts and losing significant market value.
The NLPC is sponsoring a shareholder proposal that urges Mondalez International to reconsider Oreo’s partnership with PFLAG. The proposal requests that the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors at Mondalez International create a study subcommittee to “examine the risks and consequences of the Company’s associations with external organizations, to determine whether they threaten the growth and sustainability of the Company,” and issue a report on those findings by March 31, 2025.
“Oreo is beloved by all ages, with a brand reputation as a fun treat for kids,” notes the NLPC. “Everything about the delicious cookie screams ‘fun.’ It is hard to imagine that it could ever go out of style or lose popularity — unless those responsible for the brand’s image somehow squander or destroy it.”
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