Ben & Jerry’s co-founders have parted ways after decades of social activism and sweet success. For the first time since the company’s start in 1978, Jerry Greenfield is out.
Co-founder Ben Cohen announced Greenfield’s departure on X, posting a statement from his longtime partner.
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In the statement, Greenfield said his choice to step down was “one of the hardest and most painful decisions I’ve ever made.”
Feud with ownership
Greenfield’s decision to step down comes amid a feud with Ben & Jerry’s company owner, Unilever. The major corporation acquired Ben and Jerry’s in 2000 in a deal that allowed Greenfield and Cohen to “pursue their own values.”
Since then, Ben & Jerry’s has taken stances on climate change, police reform, Trump policies, anti-war and anti-genocide issues, among other items.
However, Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever have been feuding since 2021, when Unilever curtailed its social activism. It announced it would stop sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Following that announcement, the brand sued Unilever over alleged efforts to silence it and described the Gaza conflict as “genocide.”
Yesterday, a United Nations independent commission confirmed that Israel is commiting genocide in Gaza.
Ben & Jerry’s ‘lack of independence’
Now, Greenfield says their social mission is being “muzzled” and the independence they once had is gone.
“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,” Greenfield wrote in his statement.
He said Ben & Jerry’s has always been about more than ice cream, and if that can’t be the case anymore, he no longer wants to be a part of the company.
“Ben and I believed that our values and the pursuit of justice were more important than the company itself. If the company couldn’t stand up for the things we believed, then it wasn’t worth being a company at all,” Greenfield wrote.
Read Greenfield’s full statement below:
It’s with a broken heart that I’ve decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee of Ben & Jerry’s. I am resigning from the company Ben and I started back in 1978. This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions l’ve ever made.
This isn’t because l’ve lost my love for the people at Ben & Jerry’s. Quite the opposite.
The folks who show up every day in our factories, scoop shops, and offices are some of the most passionate, caring, and values-driven people you’ll ever meet. They are the soul of Ben & Jerry’s.What has made their work so important to me, and 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. For more than twenty years under their ownership, Ben & Jerry’s stood up and spoke out in support of peace, justice, and human rights, not as abstract concepts, but in relation to real events happening in our world.
That independence existed in no small part because of the unique merger agreement Ben and I negotiated with Unilever, one that enshrined our social mission and values in the company’s governance structure in perpetuity. It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone.
And it’s happening at a time when our country’s current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women, and the LGBT community.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. It’s easy to stand up and speak out when there’s nothing at risk. The real test of values is when times are challenging and you have something to lose.
Love, equity, justice. They’re part of who Ben and I are, and they’ve always been the true foundation of Ben & Jerry’s. From the very beginning, Ben and I believed that our values and the pursuit of justice were more important than the company itself. If the company couldn’t stand up for the things we believed, then it wasn’t worth being a company at all.
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. 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. If I can’t carry those values forward inside the company today, then I will carry them forward outside, with all the love and conviction I can.
With love,
Jerry
