Jerry Greenfield, who co-founded Ben & Jerry’s and lent his name to the famous ice cream brand, announced he is leaving the company amid growing tensions with parent company Unilever over its stance on the war in Gaza.
In an open letter addressed to the Ben & Jerry’s community, which his longtime partner Ben Cohen shared on X Wednesday, Greenfield argued that the company had lost its autonomy ever since Unilever restricted its social activism.
Disagreements between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s go back to 2021, when the ice cream maker said it would halt sales in the West Bank, sparking controversy.
Since then, Ben & Jerry’s has taken its parent company to court, accusing Unilever of trying to muzzle it. The brand has also described the conflict in Gaza as “genocide,” a rare position for a major American corporation.
Greenfield explained that he could not remain with a company he believed had been “silenced” by its owner, despite assurances in their merger deal that were supposed to protect its mission. He said he could no longer “in good conscience” continue under those conditions.
“That independence existed in no small part because of the unique merger agreement Ben and I negotiated with Unilever,” Greenfield wrote in his letter.
Responding to his comments, a spokesperson for Unilever’s ice cream division, which owns the Magnum brand, said it “disagrees with Greenfield’s perspective and has sought to engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s powerful values-based position in the world.”
Unilever added that Greenfield had only stepped down from his role as brand ambassador and noted that he is not involved in the legal proceedings against the company.
His resignation comes at a time when Ben & Jerry’s has been pushing for independence, calling for a spin-off as Unilever prepares to publicly list Magnum Ice Cream in November. The clashes over the brand’s outspoken position on Gaza have fueled this push.
Just last week, Ben Cohen urged Unilever to “free Ben & Jerry’s” in order to safeguard its social activism, but the proposal was rejected by new Magnum CEO Peter ter Kulve.
Cohen revealed that the company had attempted to arrange a sale to investors, valuing the brand between $1.5 billion and $2.5 billion, but Unilever refused the offer.
Ben & Jerry’s began in 1978, when Cohen and Greenfield opened their first shop in a converted gas station. Even after Unilever acquired the company in 2000, the brand maintained its socially driven ethos—until now, according to Greenfield.
{Matzav.com}
good riddance. Both ben and jerry are rashayim arurim, sonei Yisroel sh’ain lahem chelek lOlam haBa.
Leftist Liberals self-hating Jews to please the goyim.
The two Jewish partners are an example how without Torah, Jews can become their worst enemies. Sad. Hopefully, something or someone will arouse them to teshuva.