A few years ago, Ben & Jerry's ice cream was sold to Unilever and the company dropped some of its social activist policies and programs. The spirit remained, but with the founders out of the game, very little non-ice cream action was undertaken. Recently, at the request of the company's new top executive, the "ageing hippie" founders have returned to work with the ice cream company and are leading a campaign that is spearheaded by their newest flavor, American Pie.

The ice cream is browns sugar and cinnamon flavored, witch chunks of apples and pie crust in it, capturing the spirit of an all-American dessert. On the carton, there are ways to get involved in the American Pie campaign, which is detailed at the Ben& Jerry's website. Their goal is to convince consumers to convince the government to change their spending priorities on issues such as education and insurance coverage.

The flavor sounds like it is one that will appeal to most ice cream (and pie) fans, but the question now is whether a love of ice cream will change anyone's political opinions - or if a difference in political opinion, or simply a desire not to have politics on ice cream packaging, will keep anyone from buying it.

The City of Oakland, located just across the bay from San Francisco, has passed legislation to place a tax on the businesses that it believes create the most trash. The tax will not be determined on waste created in the ordinary operation of a store or restaurant, but on the amount of litter that is generated by the sale of goods. The city's legislators agree that fast food restaurants and other stores that sell convenience foods need to be held socially responsible for the litter that is caused by patrons failing to properly dispose of the wrappers and other food packaging. The tax would pay for crews to remove litter, mainly from areas around schools and bus stops. A council woman said, "You can see the paths students take to lunch by the trail of litter."