Ben & Jerry’s co-founder quits over activism row with Unilever
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The news: Co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, Jerry Greenfield, said he is leaving the brand after 47 years, as the ice-cream business’s rift with parent company Unilever deepens over its stance on the war in Gaza.
The context: In posts shared on X and Instagram, Greenfield said he decided to leave the company as it was no longer able to stand behind social justice issues that were a core part of the Ben & Jerry’s business.
An open letter penned by Greenfield, shared by business partner Ben Cohen, says that while Unilever allowed Ben & Jerry’s to espouse their social justice values for twenty years, Unilever curtailed its activism over the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s said it would stop sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and has since sued its parent over alleged efforts to silence it and described the Gaza conflict as "genocide.”
On Tuesday the United Nations found that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, and that Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu incited these acts.
Ben & Jerry's has long been known for taking public positions social issues since it was founded in 1978, including supporting campaigns around LGBTQ+ rights and climate change.
Greenfield wrote that he could no longer “in good conscience” continue working for a company that had been "silenced" by Unilever, despite the merger agreement struck in 2000 designed to safeguard the brand's social mission. "That independence existed in no small part because of the unique merger agreement Ben and I negotiated with Unilever.”
A spokesperson for Magnum Ice Cream Company, Unilever's ice cream unit, 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.”
Unilever is currently spinning off its Magnum unit, which includes Ben & Jerry’s, and is set to list in Amsterdam, with secondary listings in London and New York, in November.
The sources: Jerry Greenfield statement, WSJ, Reuters
