Ben & Jerry's co-founder resigns, with criticism of parent company Unilever, Trump administration

Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield is leaving the ice cream brand after 47 years, saying the independence it once had to speak up on social issues has been stifled by parent company Unilever.

The message was conveyed in a letter that co-founder Ben Cohen posted on social media platform X on Greenfield's behalf.

"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," he said.

In November, Ben & Jerry's sued Unilever in federal court in New York, accusing it of silencing Ben & Jerry's statements in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war.

In its complaint, Ben & Jerry's said Unilever also refused to let the company release a social media post that identified issues it believed would be challenged during President Donald Trump's second term, including minimum wages, universal health care, abortion and climate change.

In May, Cohen was detained after interrupting a Capitol Hill committee hearing where Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was testifying, shouting, "Congress sent the bombs that kill children in Gaza and pays it with cuts to Medicaid," before being escorted out of the hearing.

The Magnum Ice Cream Company, a Unilever division, said in a statement on Wednesday that it would be forever grateful to Greenfield for his contributions to Ben & Jerry's and thanked him for his service.

"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," the spokesperson said.

Magnum said it is still committed to Ben & Jerry's mission and remains "focused on carrying forward the legacy of peace, love, and ice cream of this iconic, much-loved brand."

Cohen and Greenfield, childhood friends from Long Island in New York, founded their company in Vermont in 1978. While many businesses tread lightly in politics for fear of alienating customers, the company gained a reputation for espousing progressive causes and donating proceeds to charitable organizations.

While their original eight flavours are no longer available, the ice cream maker's launch of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough in the mid-1980s resonated, and they gained attention for flavours named after high-profile figures like Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead and Sen. Bernie Sanders, among others.

Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's in 2000 for $326 million US. At the time, Ben & Jerry's said the partnership would help the progressive Vermont-based ice cream company expand its social mission, but Greenfield expressed the view in a 2020 interview with New York Times Magazine that "for the first number of years," Unilever didn't appreciate the mission.

At the time, Greenfield credited new leadership and said Ben & Jerry's had "rediscovered its soul," trumpeting the company's early support for the Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter movements.

Cracks soon began to show amid the comity.

In 2021, Ben & Jerry's announced it would stop serving Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and contested East Jerusalem. The following year, Unilever sold its Israeli business to a local company that said it would sell Ben & Jerry's under its Hebrew and Arabic name throughout Israel and the West Bank.

In May 2024 Unilever said that it was planning to spin off its ice cream business — including Ben & Jerry's — as part of a larger restructuring.

In March, Ben & Jerry's said that its CEO was unlawfully removed by Unilever in retaliation for the ice cream maker's social and political activism.

In a federal court filing, Ben & Jerry's said that Unilever informed its board on March 3 that it was removing and replacing Ben & Jerry's CEO David Stever. Ben & Jerry's said that violated its merger agreement with Unilever, which states that any decisions regarding a CEO's removal must come after a consultation with an advisory committee from Ben & Jerry's board.

London-based Unilever, which also owns personal hygiene brands like Dove soap and food brands like Hellmann's mayonnaise, said in a statement at the time that it hoped Ben & Jerry's board would engage in the agreed-upon process.

Greenfield said in his letter this week that the loss of independence he cited was occurring "at a time when our country's current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women and the LGBTQ 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," he said. "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."