Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry's: A traitor speaks out

by Bruce Watson, Posted Aug 7th 2008 @ 1:00PM

Okay, I'm going to get something out in the open here: I am somewhat biased when it comes to Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Just in case the title of this post wasn't enough to make my feelings clear, I want you to know that, from where I stand, the famed ice cream makers share moral ground with Kim Philby, John Walker, and Robert Hanssen. In my house, we don't use the term "Benedict Arnold." For us, the gold standard of betrayal takes the form of two Vermont pseudo-hippies, and the phrase "You're a total...Ben and Jerry!" can be the prelude to a massive battle royale.

Even so, I'll try to be fair.

When I was a kid, long before Ben and Jerry's became a household term, I met the pair at a book show in Washington D.C. They were hawking their ice cream cookbook and, as a young cook and avid bibliophile, I eagerly snapped up the signed first edition of their tome. Although I left the DC convention center that day with several huge bags of books, Ben and Jerry's slim volume was in my lap, and I read it and reread it repeatedly over the next few days.

Although it was to be a long time before Ben and Jerry's came to our neck of the woods, I mixed up several of their recipes in my little ice cream maker. I loved them all. In Massachusetts, where my family spent our summers, B&J's was available in a few of the markets, so my sisters and I were able to try out a few of the famous flavors. We absolutely adored them.

One of the best things about Ben and Jerry's was always the emphasis on natural ingredients and the TLC that the pair famously put into every batch. For that reason, I continued to have total loyalty to them, trusting that my ice cream would be free of foul additives, produced with the kind of love that only a couple of tubby Vermont hippies could provide.

In 2000, however, Ben and Jerry's sold out to Unilever, owners of such premium brands as Slim-Fast, Aqua-Net, Ponds, and Vaseline. Although the packaging and the hippy-dippy homestyle messages remained consistent, I began to notice that the ice cream was not quite so pure. High fructose corn syrup reared its ugly head, as did a few other commercial additives. I soon realized that the sincere dessert that I had grown to love was a thing of the past. In 2005, when my wife, who is allergic to HFCS, was pregnant and craving Chubby Hubby, I had to break out the ice cream maker and whip up a batch. Ben and Jerry's had truly failed us.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Jerry Greenfield admits that he and Ben deeply regret the decision to sell. However, he notes that, as a publicly-traded company, they had to bow to the wishes of their board of directors. When the board decided that the sale was in the best interests of the company, he and his partner had no choice but to go along. To his credit, he admits that he "sold out," but notes that "If you happen to believe what Ben & Jerry's is supporting, then you should support the company [...] As Ben says to me all the time, it's better to stand for something."

I'm not completely heartless, and I can only imagine how painful it would be to have to let go of one's company and image. That having been said, I know that Unilever stands for profit. I have no idea what Ben and Jerry stand for.

Filed Under: Business, Ingredients, Celebrities
Tags: Ben and Jerry, Ben Cohen, BenAndJerry, BenCohen, Benedict Arnold, BenedictArnold, comfort food, dessert, Jerry Greenfield, JerryGreenfield, John Walker, JohnWalker, Kim Philby, KimPhilby, Robert Hanssen, RobertHanssen, The Guardian, TheGuardian, traitors, Unilever

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Reader comments (Page 2 of 2)

8-07-2008 @11:01PM Ryan said... Well, it was one bad decision. I'll give you that. But it was one that they weren't entirely involved in. But Ben and Jerry both have done a lot of work for non-profits since then. At least that's what the factory tour guide told me. :)
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8-07-2008 @11:58PM Bernie B said... HFCS is the worst thing ever, and so pervasive. HFCS has somehow found a home in Raisin-Bran type cereals, which really sucks as it used to be one of my favorites.

On ice-cream, I've been wanting a fudge sickle all summer, but all the commercial ones are loaded with HFCS. In fact some of the packages even say their product is "All-Natural". The FDA really is a do-nothing organization to let companies get away with that.
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8-08-2008 @1:16AM Bruce Watson said... Guest1234567-
Jerry--and Ben, for that matter--did, in fact, have a choice. They chose to go public. They chose to sell control of their company in order to make a lot of money. While it's all well and good to pretend that they were unwilling victims in B&J's ultimate sell-out, they had to have known what giving up control meant. That it ultimately led to the demise of the brand's purity is, sadly, not really all that surprising.
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8-08-2008 @9:20AM Richard Ahlquist said... Ahh the irony! By being greedy and becoming a public company their own greed consumed their company, their beliefs and their standards.
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8-08-2008 @9:21AM Bruce Watson said... Richard-
When you put it like that, it sounds like a Greek tragedy!
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8-08-2008 @9:37AM Astin said... @ Lynsie

Actually, once you add egg yolks, it becomes a frozen custard, not true ice cream. Most ice cream out there does contain egg yolks now, because they add a richer, creamier texture without all the fat.
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8-08-2008 @9:41AM Astin said... Going public doesn't necessarily mean you're looking to make a lot of money off the stock. The primary reason for taking a company public is expansion. I imagine (but I could be dead wrong) that Ben & Jerry had done all they could with the business as a private entity. The ice cream had become nationally famous with high demand for it and they decided to give the people what they wanted - access, which means A LOT of financing. Today they'd have likely looked for venture capital or private equity investment, but would have still lost the company to money-men.
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8-08-2008 @11:26AM Bill said... Oh, gotta love Corporate America. I used to LOVE their Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. Especially nuked in the microwave for 30 seconds...it was just PERFECT! I don't eat it now since I'm trying to lose weight. And now that I know they have HFCS...I'll never eat it again! I try to read labels and I avoid anything that has that in it.

Companies may have to answer to their shareholders...but they ultimately have to answer to the consumer. I hope every consumer that reads this stops eating B&J ice cream. Unilever may be a good company overall, but changing a quality product like that is just stupid.
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8-10-2008 @12:45PM Mandy said... Ben & Jerry aren't traitors. They created a successful business and then cashed in on that success. They don't owe you anything, you should be grateful for the deliciousness they provided you, not bitter and unappreciative. It sounds like it's your view that Ben and Jerry should never be allowed to retire just in case someone could screw up the ice cream?
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8-27-2008 @2:10AM Melanie said... Dean: Breyers is actually owned by Unilever as well. And if you look closely, they make sure to put "Milk. Sugar. Blah blah." in nice big lettering on one side, but then on the side with the real nutrition information, they also list natural and artificial flavorings. And as we all know, they're not quite so natural, eh?
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