Lee.org

I got a letter from justice@freebenandjerrys.com asking me to write a letter in Favor of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream not being shit.

On this site, I wrote a letter directed at the CEO, Chairman and Board of Directors at Magnum

I wrote to you directly a few months ago. Here’s a followup.

I had written:
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If you abandon Ben and Jerry’s social mission, I will stop purchasing your product and strongly suggest to my friends the same.

My family has avoided your products since March. Now that the co-founder Jerry Greenfield has left the company for the same reasons, I will actively pursue removing your products from our local shelves by reaching out to friends and local stores, and activism describing how distasteful your products are.

Do the right thing.
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Here we are and I’ve had the distasteful task of telling my friends not to buy Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. It’s been successful from a boycott perspective. Every person I talked to understood and said they’d consider changing their ice cream habits. And I know for a fact that any have.

As a loyal Ben & Jerry’s customer, I am calling on you to set the company free. Ben & Jerry’s must be able to live its values without interference. Unless you restore its independence, I’m sad to say that you will lose the trust and patronage of people like me.

For nearly fifty years, Ben & Jerry’s has proven that business can be about more than profit. It has created iconic ice cream while standing up for justice, equality, and peace. That independence and authenticity are why I, and millions of others, choose Ben & Jerry’s. Every pint represents more than a flavour; it represents hope and the values we stand for.

But under Unilever and now Magnum, that independence has been eroded. The independent board created to safeguard Ben & Jerry’s mission has been overruled. Decisions that should belong to the company have been blocked. The promises and legally binding agreements made to protect Ben & Jerry’s social mission have been broken.

This isn’t just about ice cream. If even Ben & Jerry’s can be silenced, it sends a chilling message to every business, artist, and individual who dares to speak out for what is right.

If Ben & Jerry’s independence is not restored, you don’t just risk sales of Magnum’s brands. You risk destroying the very thing that makes Ben & Jerry’s valuable: its authenticity.

Magnum has a clear choice. Free Ben & Jerry’s and allow it to be sold to values-aligned investors who will preserve its mission, or watch loyal customers like me turn away from Magnum brands, taking the trust, love, and value that built Ben and Jerry’s with us.

Thank you and do the right thing,
Lee Sonko