Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has quit the company after 47 years, as the divide with parent Unilever grew over its stance on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
In a letter that co-founder Ben Cohen posted on social media platform X on Greenfield’s behalf, Greenfield said that he felt the independence the brand had to speak on social issues and events was lost to Unilever.
“It’s 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 said in a statement released by his business partner, Ben Cohen. “I am resigning from the company Ben and I started back in 1978. This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I’ve ever made
“For more than 20 years under their ownership, Ben & Jerry’s stood up and spoke out in support of peace, justice and human rights, not as abstract concepts, but in relation to real events happening in our world,” he wrote. “That independence existed in no small part because of the unique merger agreement Ben and I negotiated with Unilever, one that enshrined our social mission and values in the company’s governance structure in perpetuity. It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone.”
Greenfield said that the loss of independence was coming “at a time when our country’s current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women and the LGBTQ community.”
“Standing up for the values of justice, equity, and our shared humanity has never been more important, and yet Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power,” he said. “It’s easy to stand up and speak out when there’s nothing at risk. The real test of values is when times are challenging and you have something to lose.”
Co-founder Cohen, also 74, expressed his sadness and support over Greenfield’s resignation.
“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 said. “I am sharing his own words as he resigns from Ben & Jerry’s.”
Cohen added, “His legacy deserves to be true to the values we founded this company on, not silenced by @magnum. Help us #FreeBenandJerrys – sign up at https://freebenandjerrys.com.”
“We will be forever grateful to Jerry for his role in co-founding such an amazing ice cream company, turning his passion for delicious ice cream and addressing social causes into a remarkable success story,” a spokesperson for the Magnum Ice Cream Company told PEOPLE in a statement. “We thank him for his service and support over many decades and wish him well in his next chapter.”