Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield quits over Unilever conflicts

Ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has quit the company, as the divide with parent Unilever grew over its stance on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

His partner, Ben Cohen, shared Greenfield’s open letter on X on Wednesday, saying it was a “difficult decision.” Greenfield had been with the company for 47 years.

“This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I’ve ever made,” Greenfield wrote in the letter. “This isn’t because I’ve lost my love for the people at Ben & Jerry’s. Quite the opposite.”

He went on to say that when Unilever bought the company more than 20 years ago, it “guaranteed” Ben & Jerry’s had “the independence to pursue our values.”

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Greenfield said he could no longer “in good conscience” continue working for a company that had been “silenced” by Unilever. He also called out the current administration, saying it is “attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women and the LGBTQ community.” 

Unilever and Ben & Jerry’s have clashed since 2021, when the ice cream maker said it would stop sales in the West Bank.

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The brand has since sued its parent over alleged efforts to silence it and described the Gaza conflict as “genocide,” a rare stance for a major U.S. company.

A spokesperson for Magnum Ice Cream Company, Unilever’s ice cream unit, told Reuters that it “disagrees with Greenfield’s perspective and has 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 Greenfield stepped down as a brand ambassador and that he is not a party to the lawsuit.

Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s was founded by Cohen and Greenfield in a renovated gas station in 1978, and kept its socially conscious mission after Unilever bought it in 2000.

“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,” Greenfield wrote. 

FOX Business reached out to Unilever for comment. 

Reuters contributed to this report.