When I was competing as a track and field athlete in college, there was nothing better than finishing a race, heading to Wawa or 7-Eleven and picking up a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. My teammates and I would share the ice cream on the bus ride home as we finished homework or watched movies on our laptops. Regardless of what flavors we picked, it always felt like the perfect end to a physically and emotionally taxing day.

As an avid fan of their ice cream, I was vaguely aware of Ben & Jerry’s reputation as a brand with a strong political voice. Their branding had an unmistakable New England hippie vibe, featuring lots of rainbows, peace signs and Volkswagen buses. Their advertising often promoted progressive messages about environmental impact, fair trade practices and welcome to consumers of all kinds.

But while Ben & Jerry’s opinions were never a secret, I confess that their advocacy was rarely my first thought when faced with a pint of Cherry Garcia or Phish Food. I tended to agree with their messaging, but didn’t think too much of it when choosing a flavor. 

I had to reassess my casual consumption last week when Jerry Greenfield, a co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, told me via an Instagram post that I had it all wrong. “It was always about more than ice cream,” he wrote. “[I]t was a way to spread love and invite others into the fight for equity, justice and a better world.” Mr. Greenfield wanted to make it possible for me to enjoy a Ben & Jerry’s pint on the bus ride home with my friends. But he wanted to do that through a brand that was ethical and justice-oriented. And in the Instagram post shared by his fellow co-founder, Ben Cohen, on Wednesday, Sep. 17, he made it clear that he is not willing to sacrifice the latter to ensure the former. 

I am far from the only Ben & Jerry’s fan out there. In fact, it is a billion-dollar ice cream chain, with a presence in 42 countries worldwide. The founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, have maintained decades of friendship while co-leading the iconic brand. Despite Ben & Jerry’s success and popularity, Jerry Greenfield announced that he will be leaving the company. 

Mr. Greenfield made it clear that he is not leaving due to disputes with Mr. Cohen or other Ben & Jerry’s employees. He described the Ben & Jerry’s team as “some of the most passionate, caring, and values-driven people you’ll ever meet.” 

Yet Mr. Greenfield stood firm in his decision to move on, telling Mr. Cohen’s 171,000 Instagram followers that he could not “in good conscience” remain an employee of Ben & Jerry’s due to the brand being “silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power.” He pointed to the mindset he had when he and Mr. Cohen first started their business: “If the company couldn’t stand up for what we believed, then it wasn’t worth being a company at all.”

As Mr. Greenfield explained in the Instagram message, his departure from Ben & Jerry’s is the result of ongoing conflicts between the company’s founders and their parent company, Unilever, which acquired Ben & Jerry’s in April 2000. Mr. Greenfield claims that the original agreement with Unilever was meant to protect Ben & Jerry’s independence and their right to be a company that was outspoken with their views and values. 

These terms seem to have been largely upheld for the past two decades. Ben & Jerry’s has repeatedly advocated for issues they deem important: The company has supported Black Lives Matter and has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military actions since 2021. On their website, Ben & Jerry’s lists out some of the causes that are important to them, which include issues like “Climate Justice,” “Fairtrade” and “Rights and Dignity of Refugees,” among many others. 

Now, Mr. Greenfield claims that Ben & Jerry’s ability to remain values-driven is being threatened by Unilever’s attempts to control the brand’s messaging, especially its criticism of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza. Rather than sit quietly and muffle his own opinions, he has taken this challenge as an opportunity to double down on his commitment to living by his values, even if it was “one of the hardest and most painful” decisions of his life and leaves him with a “broken heart.” As Mr. Greenfield put it on Instagram, “The real test of values is when times are challenging and you have something to lose.” He has clearly decided that this conflict with Unilever is a “real test” and one he is determined to pass. 

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield’s political beliefs and moral values are rooted in a very progressive social and political perspective. But I don’t think one needs to be aligned with them on every issue to admire what Mr. Greenfield has done: determined what matters to him and decided to live his life in accordance with those values. 

I have been impacted by Mr. Greenfield’s clarity of thought, his moral resolve and his determination to be loyal to his “values and the pursuit of justice.” But I also respect his choice to step away for his own sake, prioritizing his right to independent speech without putting other Ben & Jerry’s employees at risk of losing their own right to make these kinds of deliberations and choices for themselves. 

Mr. Greenfield might not be a Catholic, but by letting his heart and moral compass guide his daily actions, he is living in a way I find aspirational as a person of faith. As he himself alluded to, it is easy to be justice-oriented while you’re finding success with a highly lucrative ice cream brand. But walking away from said brand in order to continue that fight for justice is a real show of fortitude and conviction.