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\n Ben Cohen (left) and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s, attend a Peace Day celebration on Sept. 21, 2009, in New York City. Greenfield announced this week that he’s resigned from the company.
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Jamie McCarthy\/Getty Images for Ben & Jerry’s<\/p>\n
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Jamie McCarthy\/Getty Images for Ben & Jerry’s<\/p>\n
Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of the beloved ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, announced this week that he’s resigned from the company he helped create in the late 1970s over an ongoing dispute with its parent company, Unilever.<\/p>\n
The Vermont-based ice cream maker, with its zany packaging and inventive flavors, has long been known for its progressive politics and the company routinely speaks out on social issues.<\/p>\n
But in a public resignation letter<\/a> posted online Tuesday, Greenfield said Ben & Jerry’s “has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power” by Unilever, the multinational corporation that bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000.<\/p>\n “And it’s happening at a time when our country’s current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women, and the LGBTQ community,” Greenfield wrote.<\/p>\n “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,” he added.<\/p>\n A long clash over independence <\/p>\n For years, Greenfield and his co-founder, Ben Cohen, have clashed with Unilever over the ice cream company’s independence and its ability to take public positions on political and social issues, from the war in Gaza to climate change. The 2000 merger agreement<\/a> between Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s created an independent board, which was responsible for preserving the company’s social mission.<\/p>\n Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever<\/a> in March, accusing it of firing the Ben & Jerry’s CEO in retaliation for the company’s ongoing activism on social media.<\/p>\n In an emailed statement Wednesday, the Magnum Ice Cream Co., a standalone company within Unilever that includes the Ben & Jerry’s brand, said it was grateful to Greenfield for co-founding the company and for his service and support over the years.<\/p>\n \n Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen, the founders of Ben & Jerry’s, pose in front of their “Cowmobile” in Burlington, Vt., on June 15, 1987. Toby Talbot\/AP<\/p>\n <\/b> toggle caption<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n Toby Talbot\/AP<\/p>\n “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,” Magnum said.<\/p>\n “We remain committed to Ben & Jerry’s unique three-part mission \u2013 product, economic and social \u2013 and remain focused on carrying forward the legacy of peace, love, and ice cream of this iconic, much-loved brand,” the company added.<\/p>\n Magnum is set to split off from Unilever<\/a> in mid-November, in what the two entities are calling a “demerger.”<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/3932x3932+1008+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fef%2F13%2F931acb1d4fb4be61000f46c6ebdc%2Fgettyimages-2205923763.jpg\")
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