Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has quit the company, as the divide with parent Unilever grew over its stance on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
His partner, Ben Cohen, shared Greenfield’s open letter on X on Wednesday, saying it was a “difficult decision.” Greenfield had been with the company for 47 years.
“This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I’ve ever made,” Greenfield wrote in the letter. “This isn’t because I’ve lost my love for the people at Ben & Jerry’s. Quite the opposite.”
He went on to say that when Unilever bought the company more than 20 years ago, it “guaranteed” Ben & Jerry’s had “the independence to pursue our values.”
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Greenfield said he could no longer “in good conscience” continue working for a company that had been “silenced” by Unilever. He also called out the current administration, saying it is “attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women and the LGBTQ community.”
Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s have clashed since 2021, when the ice cream maker said it would stop sales in the West Bank.
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Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s was founded by Cohen and Greenfield in a renovated gas station in 1978, and kept its socially conscious mission after Unilever bought it in 2000.
“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 wrote.
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A spokesperson for The Magnum Ice Cream company, Unilever’s ice cream unit thanked Greenfield for his co-founding role in a statement to FOX Business, but said, “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.”
“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. Ben & Jerry’s is a proud and thriving part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company and we look forward to further building on its success,” the statement said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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