Our current political climate has tested the integrity of many people, including the faces behind beloved companies like Ben & Jerry’s. The values that a brand stands for speaks to their purpose as an organization and demonstrates the ethics of its owners.
Jerry Greenfield, a co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, resigned Sept. 16 due to conflicts with the parent company Unilever – an honorable decision. The company was founded and owned by Greenfield and Ben Cohen in 1978, until they sold it to Unilever in 2000.
Greenfield left after 47 years with the ice cream corporation, because he felt like Ben & Jerry’s had been silenced from openly campaigning for social causes it believed in. People’s true ethics shine through during times of conflict, and even ice cream corporations cannot avoid this dilemma.
“This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I have ever made,” Greenfield wrote in a public resignation letter.
Greenfield and Cohen have disputed with Unilever for years over the independence of Ben & Jerry’s and its ability to share open stances on political and social issues. The 2000 merger agreement between the two corporations was supposed to preserve Ben & Jerry’s social mission, but Unilever has not upheld its responsibility.
The two co-founders were passionate about social issues, making their political positions part of the brand’s identity. It is disappointing to remove see a company stripped of its moral values, not just for the political implications, but also the emotional context and connections with customers.
Unilever is a British-based company that bought Ben & Jerry’s for $326 million. According to Cohen, the parent business started disrespecting the terms of agreement as management turned over.
Unilever sold its interest in Ben & Jerry’s in July 2022 to a local company in Israel, marketing the ice cream products with Hebrew and Arabic labels in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. As a liberal-leaning company, Ben & Jerry’s did not agree with the decision. They tried to block the decision in court, but a federal judge unfortunately rejected their request.
Ben & Jerry’s later sued Unilever in November 2024, accusing it of silencing the company’s statements supporting Palestinians in the Gaza war.
The company also accused Unilever in March 2025 of firing its CEO David Stever in retaliation for its social media activism, claiming it breached the merger agreement. Stever was removed from the ice cream corporation by Unilever without the board’s approval.
Overruling a company’s decisions that directly tie to their mission is immoral and injudicious. Cohen believes in his heart to keep fighting, but his co-founder resigned. Greenfield shared in his letter how the company’s independence to stand insupportable of justice and human rights is now gone because of Unilever.
“Jerry has a really big heart,” Cohen said to NBC. “This conflict with Unilever has been tearing him apart for quite some time now. I think this is the right move for Jerry.”
Despite one’s political views, Greenfield’s choice is extremely praiseworthy and commendable. To step away from something you have poured so much heart and soul into in order to stay true to your moral values and who you are as a person is an admirable feat.
The actions of Unilever reflect who it is as a corporation. Oppressing the social mission of a company attacks its integrity and what it advocates for.
The erosion of trust and inappropriate overreach are not amendable and only harms the founders and their moral rights.
This story was written by Rachel Lopera. She can be reached at r[email protected]
