Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has resigned in protest over alleged censorship of the ice cream brand’s progressive activism by its owner, The Magnum Ice Cream Company.
“It is 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,” Greenfield wrote in an open letter.
“This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I’ve ever made.”
Published ahead of Magnum’s planned demerger from Unilever, the letter accuses the ice cream group of “silencing and sidelining” Ben & Jerry’s to prevent it from “upsetting those in power” with its outspoken support for human rights.
Greenfield and co-founder Ben Cohen sold Ben & Jerry’s to Unilever in 2000 under the proviso it remained free to pursue its social mission, guaranteed by an independent board – a condition that has been the centre of an increasingly public spat.
A week prior to Greenfield’s resignation, he and Cohen called on Magnum to divest the brand ahead of its IPO in November. And in early 2025, the company’s independent social mission board sued Unilever over the removal of former CEO David Stever, which it called an attempt to clamp down on the brand’s politics.
Relations between the two nosedived after Ben & Jerry’s announced in 2021 it would halt sales in Palestine’s West Bank in protest of illegal settler occupation, with the feud escalating after Ben & Jerry’s advocated for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Love, equity, justice. They’re part of who Ben and I are, and they’ve always been the true foundation of Ben & Jerry’s,” Greenfield wrote.
“From the very beginning, Ben and I believed that our values and the pursuit of justice were more important than the company itself. If the company couldn’t stand up for the things we believed, then it wasn’t worth being a company at all.
“It was always about more than just ice cream; it was a way to spread love and invite others into the fight for equity, justice and a better world. Coming to the conclusion that this is no longer possible at Ben & Jerry’s means I can no longer remain part of Ben & Jerry’s.”
A Magnum spokesman said the company was “forever grateful” to Jerry for his role in the company’s foundation and many decades of service, but said the company “disagreed with his perspective”.
“[We] 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,” he said.
“We remain committed to Ben & Jerry’s unique three-part mission – product, economic and social – and remain focused on carrying forward the legacy of peace, love, and ice cream of this iconic, much-loved brand. Ben & Jerry’s is a proud and thriving part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company and we look forward to further building on its success.”
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