Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, announced that he could “no longer in good conscience” remain at the company. This was not a retirement but a protest. After almost 50 years with the company, Greenfield left the company because Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s parent company, had begun to silence the activism and mission that Greenfield and Ben Cohen had fought for. Greenfield’s departure from Ben & Jerry’s sent a message about the greed of the corporate world and how those in power only care about profits — not a mission.
Greenfield co-founded Ben & Jerry’s with the hope of not only selling ice cream but also standing up for social justice, environmental responsibility and using the business as a force for positive change. This stance was blocked after the company was bought by Unilever, who only wanted to profit from the ice cream and not be politically involved.
Greenfield is an outspoken activist, being seen at many protests, even being arrested in the U.S. Senate for speaking out against the war in Gaza. In 2000, Unilever bought Ben & Jerry’s, and the deal included terms ensuring that the ice cream company would keep its independence in terms of social activism. Despite this, the promise has not been completely upheld, and Unilever has repeatedly questioned if the ice cream company’s activism has crossed a line.
When Ben & Jerry’s stopped the sale of ice cream in the West Bank, Unilever backtracked on the agreement and sold the license to another company. This was an awful thing to do, going against everything the company was founded on. Unilever has repeatedly gone back on its original deal to keep the social activism and independence within the ice cream company alive. It never cared about keeping the promise and sending a message of positivity. Anything in the way of Unilever’s money-hungry agenda was going to be eliminated.
Critics and business executives may argue that stepping down is only symbolic and that real change should come from within. This is wrong. Greenfield’s departure from the company is about keeping the integrity of what Ben & Jerry’s was founded on: a commitment to social justice and activism that Unilever was chopping away at. Greenfield’s exit forces people to realize that the corporate world cares only about profits and sales and not about stopping the genocide in Gaza, something that Greenfield was outspoken about.
The entire mission of the company was to be able to speak about topics many chose to stay silent on. Unilever melted the dream of being able to speak for those who may not have a voice. That is what Ben & Jerry’s stood for, but because of profits and marketability, that ability was taken from them. The co-founder left his company to send a message to the people, saying that he would not stand for such an injustice to happen to his company.
