After 47 Years, Jerry Greenfield Moves On from Ben & Jerry’s

It’s not every day that one of the world’s most famous ice cream founders hangs up the scoop. But after nearly five decades of churning out pints that are as famous for their chunks and swirls as they are for their activism, Jerry Greenfield—the Jerry in Ben & Jerry’s—has resigned. And he didn’t leave quietly.

As a company, Ben & Jerry’s has never shied away from bold flavors or bold stances. From climate change to marriage equality to criminal justice reform, the Vermont-born brand has always sprinkled social causes right into its DNA. In the same spirit of transparency, Greenfield shared his reasons for stepping down in a letter posted on X by co-founder Ben Cohen. His words were as rich and loaded as a pint of Phish Food:

“Ben & Jerry's has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power.”

Greenfield explained that he and Cohen always believed values came before profits. Or in his words:

“Ben and I believed that our values and the pursuit of justice were more important than the company itself.”

If you’ve ever wondered why your pint of Half Baked costs more than generic freezer aisle ice cream, here’s a clue—it’s not just the cookie dough chunks. Ben & Jerry’s insists on FairTrade Certified ingredients, meaning they pay fair prices, support sustainable farming, and ensure safe working conditions for suppliers. It’s a brand built as much on social justice as it is on decadent flavors.

But according to Greenfield, Unilever—the corporate giant that bought Ben & Jerry’s back in 2000—has been chipping away at that independence. He wrote:

“The independence to pursue our values”

was a cornerstone of the original sale. For a while, things seemed sweet enough. But recently, that freedom melted away.

Greenfield didn’t attribute his departure to one issue alone, but Reuters reported that the company’s stance on Gaza played a role. Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever clashed when the ice cream brand announced it would stop selling in the West Bank. Unilever pushed back, lawsuits followed, and suddenly ice cream became a battleground for global politics.

After all that, Greenfield decided he couldn’t continue under the parent company’s thumb. His farewell words make it clear this is less of a goodbye and more of a “see you on the outside”:

“If I can't carry those values forward inside [Ben & Jerry's] today, then I will carry them forward outside, with all the love and conviction I can.”

More Than Just Ice Cream

Ben & Jerry’s was always more than a brand—it was two seventh-grade gym-class buddies who built a scoop shop in 1978 that grew into a global juggernaut. Along the way, they turned pints into platforms, mixing cookie dough with calls for justice.

And now? Jerry Greenfield may be stepping away from the company, but not from the causes that shaped it. The man who helped invent Cherry Garcia is still fighting for values he sees as non-negotiable—just not from inside the freezer case anymore.