Posted on 09/17/2025 7:35:58 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has quit the ice cream brand he started in 1978 amid a dispute with its British owner Unilever, according to a post by the company’s other co-founder, Ben Cohen.
Cohen shared a statement from Greenfield that said quitting was “one of the hardest and most painful decisions” he has made. He accused Unilever of curtailing Ben & Jerry’s ability to speak out on social and political causes – which became synonymous with the brand’s identity.
“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,” he added.
Greenfield and Cohen sold their Vermont-based ice cream company to Unilever in 2000 and, according to Greenfield, were guaranteed the “independence to pursue (their) values.” But the brand’s relationship with Unilever eroded over the years.
The Magnum Ice Cream Company, which is being spun off from Unilever, said the company has tried to work with the brand’s co-founders.
“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,” a Magnum spokesperson said in a statement.
Tensions between Ben & Jerry’s and its parent company boiled over in 2021, when Ben & Jerry’s ended its sales in occupied Palestinian territories, saying it’s inconsistent with the values of the socially conscious brand. That triggered backlash from Israel and kicked off a battle with Unilever over the brand’s independence.
Last year, Ben & Jerry’s filed a lawsuit against Unilever, accusing the parent company of censoring its public statements to support Palestinian refugees and resolutions to end military aid to Israel.
(Excerpt) Read more at channel3000.com ...
There is *nothing* worse than a rich Socialist
Weird right? Guess because when you need to dispense that much bile it takes a longggggg time.
When you sell your business you kind of lose control of what the new owner can do, and the only reason these two socialists were brand managers is because it somehow through sales put money in their pockets. Dear Ben and Jerry GFOAD already.
Two more self loathing jews.
“There’s something about those two that rubs me the wrong way.”
It’s becausse they are a couple of Vermont communist turds.
An old guy, in my travels I have found that talking rationally rather than reacting to verbal provocations and the like is what really infuriates those who would intimidate for the "queerest" of causes. Being informed as a bulwark, what has remained to them is just anger and name-calling.
but as to the "rainbow flag," I have sometimes termed it the "C or C" flag, using rude lady part and rude boy part slang in full rather than the abbreviations. Turns out lesbians in particular an not keen to be called "community" with gays, whom they generally despise. It's a funny world.
Stupid ass doesn’t understand that Unilever bought their company to make money and not as a social experiment.
God is patient.
You might. My bride -- lo these many years -- makes her own, when we have it. And bakes our daily bread. And mixes some fantastic "adult beverages," which we prefer to ice cream anyway. We think of them as ingestible blood thinners. Cheers!
“... and yet Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power,”
But they were just fine take the zillions when they sold their company to “those in power”.
Self serving hypocrites!
Many, many years ago I worked for a bank in New England. At one time our commerical guys were trying to land the B&J account. They met with the senior leadership of our bank. They brought with them a list of requirements to get their business. While most of the requirements were just good financial and transactional things they had a bunch of political things they wanted. It included things like “not doing business with Company A B or C; or other companies who did business in certain countries.”
Since a couple of our clients were defense contractors we would have had to cut ties with customers we had been doing business with for literally decades.
The President of our bank asked if they were serious. They assured us that even though we could save them a lot of cash on their transactional business, they were quite serious about their political needs.
Thankfully, the President of our bank said, “Eff that” and walked out of the meeting.
I was a littler surprised at that because our bank President tended to be all about revenue. He showed me that loyalty to long time customers was always critical t your business.
Since that day, no B&J ice cream has passed my lips. And I liked their ice cream. But they are just ass holes in real life.
According to people with common sense, yes. But leftists live in their own world of alternative reality.
Happy to take the money, though.
Note to Jerry: They don’t need you to speak, brain trust. Unilever IS Deep State.
I can’t recall if I have or not. If I did it was a very long time ago when I was oblivious to what they were about. Nothing about it jumped out enough for me to think the product was something to aspire to if I did. For quite a while their product was unavailable where I live so there was that as well. I have used some leftist products like Levis and Nike when I was much younger and knew nothing about their politics. North Face was a brand I had as a jacket for ages but same deal now. Never again.
I NEVER but Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
Yo Ben, yo Jerry- there is no such thing as half selling out. When you sell out, you are out.
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