Jerry Greenfield, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, has resigned from the ice cream company amid a dispute with its parent company over the crisis in Gaza.
The resignation was announced by co-founder Ben Cohen, who shared a letter written by Greenfield in which he claims Unilever, which purchased Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, had curtailed the brand’s social activism.
“Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power,” Greenfield wrote. “If the company couldn’t stand up for the things we believed, then it wasn’t worth being a company at all.”
Greenfield took particular umbrage with Unilever over a merger agreement which he said had “enshrined” the company’s ability to enact its social mission and values “in perpetuity” — claiming Unilever had failed to uphold these protections over the years.
“What allowed the company to be more than just an ice-cream company was the independence to pursue our values, which was guaranteed when Unilever bought the company,” Greenfield wrote.
“It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, has gone,” he added.
While Greenfield mentioned Ben & Jerry’s’ long-running activism in response to issues like the Trump administration, immigration, and the LGBTQ community, his dispute with Unilever reared its head more recently, as he and Cohen were vocal about the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In 2021, the ice cream company decided to stop selling its products in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, and last year, Greenfield and Cohen launched a lawsuit alleging that Unilever had blocked the brand from making statements about Palestinian refugees.
In a rare move stance for a major US company, Ben & Jerry’s declared in May that the crisis in Gaza is a “genocide”.
“[Ben & Jerry’s] was always about more than just ice cream – it was a way to spread love and invite others to fight for equity, justice and a better world,” Greenfield wrote.
“If I can’t carry those values forward inside the company then I will carry them forever outside,” he added.
In response, a spokesperson for Magnum Ice Cream Company, a part of Unilever’s ice cream unit, said that it “disagrees with” Greenfield’s comments.
“[Magnum] sought to engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s powerful values-based position in the world,” the spokesperson said, per the ABC.
“We remain committed to Ben & Jerry’s unique three-part mission — product, economic and social — and remain focused on carrying forward the legacy of peace, love, and ice cream of this iconic, much-loved brand,” it continued.
Elsewhere in the letter, Greenfield said his resignation came “with a broken heart” and was “one of the hardest and most painful decisions I’ve ever made”.
He also emphasised his love for the core company, and expressed support for its employees in factories, offices and shops across the world.
Ben & Jerry’s lists its core social values as human rights and dignity, social and economic justice, and environmental protection.
Lead images: Getty Images and X
The post Magnum Responds After Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Quits Over ‘Silenced’ Social Mission appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
