weldonwk
67990014e310a57a1a500e36 Unileveric

Ben & Jerry’s Claims Unilever Is Censoring it Over Fear of Donald Trump

Jan. 28, 2025
Ban of its social media post on abortion, climate change and other issues adds to tensions that began in 2021; ‘criticizing Trump was now too taboo.’

Ben & Jerry’s claims its parent company Unilever has suppressed a social media post supporting several social causes, apparently because the post specifically mentioned President Donald Trump.

The socially conscious ice cream company, which has a longstanding hands-off agreement with Unilever, amended its November 2024 lawsuit against its owner to add that a post on abortion, climate change, minimum wages and universal healthcare was forbidden “because it specifically mentioned Donald Trump,” according to several media reports.

That November 2024 filing also claimed censorship and reversals of decisions by B&J’s independent board.

Peter ter Kulve, Unilever’s president of its ice cream division, apparently was responsible for preventing the post. “According to Mr. ter Kulve, despite four decades of progressive social activism—and years of challenging the Trump administration’s policies specifically—criticizing Trump was now too taboo for the brand synonymous with ‘Peace, Love and Ice Cream,’ ” the amended lawsuit reads, according to CNN.

When the Vermont ice cream company was bought from founders Ben Greenfield and Jerry Cohen in 2000, the contract stipulated the American company could continue speaking out and supporting social causes – as a key component of its brand identity.

That worked for years until July 2021 when Ben & Jerry’s announced it would be ending sales of its products in Israeli settlements in the West Bank to protest Israel’s creation of more settlements there. Unilever resisted and, rather than an outright reversal, sold Ben & Jerry’s intellectual property in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory to a distributor who would continue sales in the settlements.

A December 2022 agreement seemed to settle the matter, but Unilever also allegedly silenced B&J’s subsequent statements of support for Palestinian refugees and an end to military aid to Israel, according to the lawsuit.

“I expressed concerns about the continued perception of antisemitism that is a persistent issue, the lawsuit quotes ter Kulve as explaining his motives.

The lawsuit seeks “Plaintiff’s reasonable attorney's fees and costs; and any and all other relief that this Court deems just and proper.”

However this plays out, Unilever is in the process of spinning off all its ice cream businesses around the globe into a standalone company … apparently under the leadership of Peter ter Kulve.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.

Sponsored Recommendations

Refrigerated transport services you can count on

Ensure product quality from origin to final destination with refrigerated shipping solutions from Schneider.

4 shipping challenges that a dedicated carrier can solve

Navigating the logistics industry is challenging. Find out how a dedicated transportation solution can solve some of the most common shipping challenges.

Dedicated lightweight solution maximizes bottled water payload

A leading bottled water company needed a carrier to transport water from 29 plants to retailers. The challenge? Handling over 46,000 pounds. Read the study.

Recipe for successful growth: Schneider’s dedicated fleet services helps bakery rise

Learn how a large bakery company complimented their private fleet with Schneider Dedicated freight services to increase freight capacity, amplify visibility & reduce costs.