SWEET FREEDOM

Ben & Jerry’s Democracy-Flavored Ice Cream

The new flavor, “Empower Mint,” includes a big scoop of voting rights advocacy.

If if someone told you American politics was now an ice cream flavor, you might expect it to be bitter and gross.

But it turns out, it apparently tastes like peppermint.

Ben & Jerry’s has concocted a new flavor, called “Empower Mint,” that expresses the Vermont duo’s politics through peppermint ice cream with fudge brownies and swirls.

But don’t let the delicious medium of their message fool you—Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are serious about U.S. politics, which they say has become increasingly corrupted by big money and efforts to repress minority voters.

“This fudge-filled flavor reflects our belief that voting gives everyone a taste of empowerment, & that an election should be more ‘by the people’ and less ‘buy the people!’” reads Empower Mint’s profile on the Ben & Jerry’s website. “We all deserve an equal serving of democracy.”

The company goes into even more detail in its press release for the flavor's launch.

“Huge groups of Americans face incredible barriers to voting,” the release says, “like voter ID laws that disproportionately keep African-Americans and other minorities from casting their ballots, confusing registration processes, and shortened early voting periods.”

The two confectionary geniuses demonstrated their seriousness about these issues last month, when they were among those arrested at the Democracy Awakening protest on the U.S. Capitol.

Creating Empower Mint, most likely, was a sweeter experience.

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Nathan Place

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