FROZEN OUT

‘Silenced’ Anti-Trump Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Dramatically Quits

Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen built the brand with a close connection to activism.

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has quit the company after 47 years, citing a loss of freedom to “pursue our values.” The 74-year-old started the Vermont company alongside Ben Cohen and aligned it closely with social justice issues and activism. In his resignation letter, posted on Cohen’s X account, Greenfield said the freedom to express the values they hold dear had been part of their agreement with Unilever when it bought company in 2000. Now though, he says with a “broken heart” he can’t continue “in good conscience.” His exit comes as Unilever prepares to spin off its ice cream wing, the Magnum Ice Cream Company. “It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone,” Greenfield wrote. He added, “Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power,” complaining it comes while the “country’s current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women, and the LGBTQ community.” Cohen and Greenfield had clashed with Unilever over the years for their activism. Unilever said in a statement: “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.”