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  • Ben & Jerry’s co-founder quits, says independence “gone” under British giant Unilever

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    The co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s has resigned from the ice cream brand after saying his company, known for its social activism, has lost “the independence to pursue our values” under the ownership of British giant Unilever.

    Jerry Greenfield’s announcement follows the company’s failure in 2022 to block Unilever from selling its ice cream in West Bank settlements, which Ben & Jerry’s said would run counter to its values.

    Greenfield said he could “no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee” of the Vermont-based company, according to a statement published on X by co-founder Ben Cohen late Tuesday.

    Jerry Greenfield, right, and Ben Cohen, co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s, partnered with MoveOn to hand out free ice cream at Franklin Square in Philadelphia during their Scoop The Vote tour to get-out-the-vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats down-ballot on Sept. 16, 2024.

    Lisa Lake / Getty Images for MoveOn


    The brand was founded by the two school friends in 1978 and acquired by Unilever in 2000. It is now owned by the Magnum Ice Cream Company, a Unilever subsidiary.

    Greenfield said his company “has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power” at a time when the current U.S. administration is “attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women and the LGBTQ community.”

    “It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone,” he added.

    Cohen said in his post that Greenfield’s “legacy deserves to be true to our values, not silenced by (Magnum).”

    A Magnum spokesperson said the company remains committed to the Ben & Jerry’s mission and legacy.

    “We disagree with (Greenfield’s) 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,” he added.

    In May, the 74-year-old Cohen was removed from a U.S. Senate hearing after shouting “Congress pays for bombs to kill children in Gaza” and startling Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.

    A longtime critic of Israeli policy, Cohen last year joined prominent Jewish figures in an open letter opposing the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.

    Unilever is in the process of spinning off Magnum, which is expected to begin standalone operations by mid-November.

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  • Ben & Jerry’s board chair calls for “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza

    Ben & Jerry’s board chair calls for “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza

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    Israel-Hamas war surpasses 100 days


    Israel-Hamas war surpasses 100 days

    01:48

    Ben & Jerry’s leadership is calling for a “permanent and immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, with its board of directors chair decrying that the “corporate world has been silent” about the conflict.

    Ben & Jerry’s board chair Anuradha Mittal on Tuesday told the Financial Times that the ice cream maker’s call for peace in Gaza is “consistent with the company’s history and values.” The interview marks one of the few instances when a U.S. company has publicly supported an end to the Israel-Hamas war, the FT noted.

    “From Iraq to Ukraine [the company] has consistently stood up for these principles,” Mittal told the publication. “Today is no different as we call for peace and a permanent and immediate ceasefire.”

    Mittal is also the founder and executive director of the Oakland Institute, an advocacy group focused on human rights, environmental conservation policies and other issues.

    Ben & Jerry’s has a long history of openly taking progressive stances on social and political issues, a habit that helped define the Vermont-based brand in its early years. But that activism has also occasionally cause conflict with corporate parent Unilever, which bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000.

    In 2022, Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever for selling its business in Israel and the country’s contest West Bank region to a local licensee, arguing that the sale was at odds to Unilever’s promise to end sales of its products in the region in 2021 as a show of support for the Palestinian cause. 

    The disagreement culminated in Unilever freezing the salaries of Ben & Jerry’s boardmembers as a “pressure tactic” to force the company to acquiesce to the Israeli ice cream deal, Reuters reported. 

    Unilever did not immediately reply to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment. 

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