There won’t be a Jerry at Ben & Jerry’s anymore.
Jerry Greenfield, one of the ice cream brand’s co-founders, said late Tuesday that he was leaving the company after 47 years.
Greenfield criticized the ice-cream brand’s parent company, Unilever, in his announcement, saying that it had silenced the brand’s speech on social and political issues.
“It’s with a broken heart that I’ve decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee at Ben & Jerry’s,” Greenfield wrote in a statement shared by his cofounder, Ben Cohen, on X. “I am resigning from the company Ben and I started back in 1978. This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I’ve ever made.”
Unilever bought Ben & Jerry’s for $326 million in 2000. The acquisition contained a provision that allowed Ben & Jerry’s to advocate for social and political causes.
In 2021, that part of the agreement was tested after Ben & Jerry’s said that it would stop selling its ice cream in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
A dispute between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s followed, including a fight in court.
“It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone,” Greenfield wrote in his statement.
“Standing up for the values of justice, equity, and our shared humanity has never been more important, and yet Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power,” he wrote.
A spokesperson for the Magnum Ice Cream Company, Unilever’s portfolio of ice cream brands, said that the company thanked Greenfield “for his service and support over many decades and wish him well in his next chapter.” Unilever is in the process of spinning off its ice cream business from the rest of the company.
“We disagree with his perspective and have 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.
“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,” the spokesperson added.
Ben & Jerry’s and its founders have waded into political issues over the years.
Several of the brand’s flavors have nodded to political causes, such as 2009’s “Yes Pecan,” a reference to Barack Obama’s campaign slogan, and 2021’s “Change in Brewing,” which the company released after the killing of George Floyd and calls to reform the police system.
The company has also released statements in support of movements such as Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter.
In May, Cohen was arrested after interrupting a US Senate hearing as part of a protest against the war in Gaza.
“It was always about more than just ice cream; it was a way to spread love and invite others into the fight for equity, justice and a better world,” Greenfield said.
“Coming to the conclusion that this is no longer possible at Ben & Jerry’s means I can no longer remain part of Ben & Jerry’s,” he added.
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