In case you missed it, Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of the beloved Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company, resigned on Tuesday, Sept. 16, and his co-founder, Ben Cohen, shared Greenfield’s resignation announcement on Instagram.
In the announcement, Greenfield explained it was the hardest and most painful decision he’s ever made, but he feels he can’t continue their social justice work under their parent company, Unilever.
So, how did an ice cream company become so involved in social justice initiatives? How did we get to this point?
It all began when the pair moved to Vermont together in 1977, both at the age of 27. Cohen wasn’t having much luck selling his pottery, and Greenfield had been rejected by medical schools, so they decided to open a store together. The two boys were born four days apart from each other and became friends in 1963 in a gym class designed for overweight students in their hometown of Nassau County, New York.
It was 1977, a year of disco, bell-bottoms, and cultural milestones like the release of Star Wars and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. Cohen and Greenfield incorporated their business initially, thinking of opening a bagel shop. However, the machinery costs for bagels were too high, so instead, they decided to take a $5 course in ice cream making from Pennsylvania State University.
With the help of a bank loan and some savings, they got to work converting a gas station in Burlington, Vermont, to suit their needs. By settling in a college town, they were able to afford rent and a steady supply of customers.
The following year, Cohen and Greenfield opened their first ice cream shop, starting the iconic Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream.
Not only were they producing high-quality ice cream, but they also bought their supplies exclusively from local dairy farmers. During this time, ice cream wasn’t the same as it is today. The main company was Häagen-Dazs, which cultivated a high-end image. Ben & Jerry’s had a distinguishing factor, though.
In a 1985 article from TIME magazine, they stated that they “tried to create an image of simple, down-home wholesomeness.” That image was even on the cartons, which showed “a picture of the two bespectacled, bushy-haired owners, who look like refugees from a ‘60s commune.”
A Timeline of Activism
Starting with its 1978 founding, the brand was marked by early environmental activism, following the company’s 1988 release of “Peace Pops,” with the company advocating for 1% of the national defense budget to fund peace initiatives.
In 1989, the company publicly opposed recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) in dairy products, and in 1992, the company partnered with the Children’s Defense Fund to raise awareness for children’s basic needs.
This focus on social issues evolved in the 2000s when the brand began to specifically champion LGBTQ+ rights. The company has a history of creating special edition flavors to support causes, such as “Yes Pecan!” in 2009, which directed a portion of its proceeds to the Common Cause Education Fund. In 2016, they released “Empower Mint” to promote efforts against voter suppression, with a portion of the profits supporting the NAACP in North Carolina.
Two years later, in 2018, the company launched “Pecan Resist” to protest policies impacting women, immigrants, people of color, and the environment. This commitment to racial justice continued in 2019 with “Justice ReMix’d,” a flavor that partnered with the racial justice advocacy group, The Advancement Project. Their non-dairy, “Change the Whirled” flavor, released in 2021 in collaboration with Colin Kaepernick, aimed to support Kaepernick’s youth organization.
Alongside all of this social support, the company’s activism also extends to environmental causes. In 2005, they protested oil drilling in the Arctic by baking and distributing a 900-pound Baked Alaska. In 2015, the “Save Our Swirled” flavor supported the Paris Agreement talks for climate change action.
Ben & Jerry’s continued its environmental fight in 2019 with the “Fight For The Reef Scoop Tour” to raise awareness for the Great Barrier Reef, and in 2020, “Unfudge Our Future” was launched to encourage leaders to ban fossil fuels.
The Unilever Acquisition
In 2000, British-based Unilever bought Ben & Jerry’s for $326 million. Under the acquisition, the food company was to maintain an independent board of directors with the intention of continuing its social mission without interference. Cohen and Greenfield remained with the company, but not in operational roles. Instead, they focused on its social missions.
While Ben & Jerry’s has made headlines for their support of Palestinians following the start of the Israel-Hamas War, the brand had already expressed such beliefs. In 2021, the company announced in a statement on their website that they would no longer sell ice cream in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), explaining that doing so would be “inconsistent with their values.”
Withdrawing the product meant ending a license agreement with a local franchisee who had distributed Ben & Jerry’s in Israel since 1987. The company added, “Although Ben & Jerry’s will no longer be sold in the OPT, we’ll stay in Israel through a different arrangement.” This decision immediately sparked conflict between Ben & Jerry’s independent board and its parent company, Unilever, over the handling of the product withdrawal from Israeli settlements.
The board said the statement released by Unilever didn’t reflect its position or receive its approval, violating the 2000 acquisition agreement that gave the board control over the company’s social mission. According to board chair Anuradha Mittal, Unilever’s attempt to override the board’s decision felt like an effort to “destroy the soul of the company.”
In November 2024, Ben & Jerry’s filed a lawsuit against Unilever, alleging threats of censorship and that Unilever had tried to prevent the board from advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza. The amended complaint also claims that Unilever refused to allow Ben & Jerry’s to post in support of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Despite Jerry’s exit, Cohen remains committed to the independent board that helps control the brand. He’s announced plans to convince Unilever to sell the brand to a group of investors committed to preserving Ben & Jerry’s social mission. This effort comes as Unilever is already making major structural changes, announcing in May 2024 that it would be transforming its ice cream businesses by the end of 2025.
Ben & Jerry’s is currently being spun off into a new company, The Magnum Ice Cream Company, which is expected to be publicly traded in November 2025. Given the changes and the founders’ commitment to the brand’s social soul, it’s currently unclear what effect the ongoing lawsuit will have on the company, and a court date for a hearing about the complaint has not yet been set.
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