Jerry of Ben & Jerry's steps down after being 'silenced'

Jerry Greenfield has left the company after 47 years. He accused Ben & Jerry's owner, Unilever, of silencing the ice cream company's voice on social issues.

Jerry Greenfield resigned from his position at Ben & Jerry's ice cream company, "with a broken heart," according to a social media post by co-founder Ben Cohen on Wednesday.

The announcement follows years of friction between the co-founders and the company's owner, Unilever, over social and political issues.  

It also comes ahead of a planned stock market float of Unilever's ice cream unit, The Magnum Ice Cream Company.

Why did Jerry leave Ben & Jerry's? 

Greenfield said the ice cream company "stood up and spoke out in support of peace, justice, and human rights, not as abstract concepts, but in relation to real events."

He said Unilever had promised to maintain that social mission, but "that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone."

Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's in 2000. Under the deal, the ice cream brand maintained a relatively high amount of autonomy in comparison to other subsidiaries.

In his message, Greenfield went on to say that this lack of independence is happening at a time when the current US administration is rolling back civil and human rights. 

"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 said.  

Cohen wrote in the same social media post, "[Greenfield's] legacy deserves to be true to our values, not silenced by" Magnum.

Reuters news agency quoted a spokesperson for Magnum as saying that 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."

Ben and Jerry wanted out

Earlier this month, Cohen and Greenfield wrote an open letter calling for Ben & Jerry's to be allowed to become independent again, as Magnum is set to split off from Unilever formally in November. 

Cohen and Greenfield said in their letter that they did not want the brand they founded in 1978 to be part of the spun-off venture.

Magnum, which also includes ice cream brands Cornetto and Walls, insisted that Ben & Jerry's is "not for sale" and will remain part of the group.

Which causes did Ben & Jerry's advocate for? 

Ben & Jerry's has long taken political stances and advocated for social justice, with the co-founders backing movements such as Black Lives Matter in 2020, and supporting US politician Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign in 2019. 

But the company has been at odds with Unilever since 2021, when Ben & Jerry's announced it would no longer sell ice cream in occupied Palestinian territories, namely Israeli settlements in the West Bank. 

Last year, Ben & Jerry's sued Unilever for allegedly silencing the company's pro-Palestinian statements. In May, the board condemned Israel's war in Gaza as a genocide, and Cohen himself was earlier arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest in Washington D.C.

Edited by: Sean Sinico