One of Ben &Jerry’s founders, Jerry Greenfield, has resigned from the ice cream company, saying that its independence had been lost and its social activism “silenced” under the control of its parent company, Unilever.
Greenfield’s business partner, Ben Cohen, announced the move on social media early Wednesday. The decision comes after years of increasing tension between Unilever, which acquired the ice cream company in 2000, and the Ben &Jerry’s founders, who have long been outspoken on social issues.
“I never thought I would have to write this, but after 47 years Jerry has made the difficult decision to stand down from the company we built together,” Cohen wrote on Instagram, along with a statement from Greenfield.
In his statement, Greenfield said he could no longer “in good conscience” remain at the company he started with Cohen in 1978.
Greenfield, 74, said that the “independence to pursue our values” that had been guaranteed for Ben &Jerry’s when it merged with Unilever in 2000 had been lost.
“Standing up for the values of justice, equity, and our shared humanity has never been more important,” Greenfield wrote. But, he added, “Ben &Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power.”
When consumer goods giant Unilever bought Ben &Jerry’s, it agreed to let the ice cream maker keep an independent board to oversee the brand, allowing Ben &Jerry’s to place “guardrails” around its social activism. The unusual arrangement was intended to give the founders continued control despite the sale of their company.