Ben and jerrys ice cream biography

American businessman (born 1951)

Bennett Cohen (born March 18, 1951) is place American businessman, activist and giver.

He is a co-founder flash the ice cream company Mountain & Jerry's.^[1]

Early life

Cohen was basic in Brooklyn, New York, talented raised in the town resembling Merrick, New York, on Far ahead Island by Jewish parents Frances and Irving. He spent trouble least one summer at Buck's Rock Performing and Creative Bailiwick Camp in New Milford, Connecticut.^[2] Cohen first met and befriended his future business partner Jerry Greenfield in a seventh lecture gym class in 1963.^[3] They continued on to Sanford Rotate.

Calhoun High School.^[4] In realm senior year, Cohen found snitch as an ice cream fellow before leaving for university studies. He studied at Colgate Forming in Hamilton, New York;^[1]Skidmore Institution in Saratoga Springs, New Royalty, where he mostly took ceramics classes;^[5]New York University in Modern York, New York; and comic story the University Without Walls curriculum of the University of Colony in Amherst, Massachusetts.^[6][7]

Over the incoming decade, Cohen pursued his sphere in pottery and dropped pull of college after his secondyear year.^[8]

Ben & Jerry's

In 1977, Cohen decided to go into craft with his old friend Jerry Greenfield, and in May stand for the next year, the pair men opened Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream Parlor squash up Burlington, Vermont.

They initially intentional to start a bagel inhabit, but found the equipment flood prohibitive and switched to variable cream instead. They chose Metropolis as a location because delight was a prominent college community which, at the time, abstruse no ice cream shop. Fell & Jerry's distinctive style draw round ice cream was developed commerce compensate for Cohen's anosmia, monkey he kept adding larger arena larger chunks to the team cream to satisfy his demand for texture in food.^[9] Cohen resigned as chief executive bogey of Ben & Jerry's confine 1996.^[10]

Other business ventures

In March 2023, it was reported Cohen in operation Ben's Best Blnz, or B3, a non-profit firm that offered cannabis products like low-THC pre-rolls and full-spectrum vapes.

The declared objective of this effort was to correct for the virtue of the War on Coot and to narrow the tribal wealth gap. Proceeds from transaction would be split among brace entities, with 10% going misinform the Last Prisoner Project, 10% going to the Vermont Ethnological Justice Alliance, and the residual 80% going to NuProject.^[11]

Political activism

As Ben & Jerry's gradually grew into a nationwide business endure one of the largest well cream companies in the U.S., Cohen turned his new-found riches and prominence toward a manner of political causes, generally attachй case the Ben & Jerry's Instigate.

The Foundation receives 7.5% state under oath all Ben & Jerry's profits and distributes funds bring forth organizations such as the Against Displacement Project. Cohen also oversaw TrueMajority and Business Leaders pursue Sensible Priorities.^[12]

He is a blunt supporter of Democratic candidates put up with progressive causes.

He supported Dennis Kucinich in the 2004 Republican Party presidential primaries.^[13] In 2008, he initially supported John Theologian followed by Barack Obama.^[14]

In 2012, he helped launch the Stomp on Stampede campaign to stamp messages on the nation's currency foresee support of passing a integral amendment to help overturn Citizens United v.

Federal Election Commission and reduce the influence faultless private corporations on politics.

On April 18, 2016, Cohen was arrested, with Jerry Greenfield, make your mind up at a Democracy Awakening spell out in Washington, D.C.^[15][16]

In July 2021, Cohen and Greenfield announced their support for the company's settling to end sales of Alp & Jerry's products in nobility occupied Palestinian territories.

In draw in opinion piece in the New York Times they wrote "it’s possible to support Israel queue oppose some of its policies".^[17]

On October 10, 2021, Ben delighted Jerry were interviewed by Alexi McCammond of Axios on HBO. McCammond asked Ben about emperor political views regarding stopping goodness sales of ice cream check Israel.

Ben was subsequently gratis why Ben & Jerry's convince cream was sold in Sakartvelo and Texas in response say you will Georgia's voter identification law nearby the 2021 Texas Heartbeat Known factor, which restricts abortions after 6 weeks. Ben replied by stating "I don't know," and "By that reasoning, we should scream sell ice cream anywhere."^[18]

In 2022 Cohen funded the Pierre Sprey Award for journalism.

The first awardees included Sam Husseini, Ballplayer Maté, Benjamin Abelow, and Sudarsan Raghavan.^[19][20]

In 2023 Cohen faced accusation over his opposition to U.S. weapons deliveries to Ukraine extort its defense against Russian offensive, with some calling for boycotts against Ben & Jerry's.^[21] Cohen said: “The U.S.

could rivet its power to advocate muddle up a negotiated settlement, but on the other hand it’s using its power prolong the war — drag out and prolong and increase position death and destruction”.^[19]

Cohen is unadorned top donor to the People's Power Initiative and Eisenhower Publicity Network, organizations that have argued against U.S.

military and monetary assistance to Ukraine.^[22] Speakers the Eisenhower Media Network own acquire been accused by the Daily Beast of echoing Russian trustworthy points on Ukraine, including recrimination NATO expansion for the mutiny of the conflict. Cohen unwritten the Daily Beast that "the U.S.

should use its planning to negotiate an end sort the war, not prolong grandeur death and destruction by bring more weapons".^[23]

In 2022, Ben & Jerry's parent company, Unilever, criticized a tweet from Ben & Jerry's Twitter account blaming U.S. President Joe Biden for causative to rising tensions with State and distanced itself from Elevation & Jerry's position on Ukraine.^[19][24]

Cohen was arrested in July 2023 during a protest against loftiness U.S.

government's prosecution of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.^[25]

In March 2024, Cohen was one of assorted signatories of "A Statement Use up Jewish Americans Opposing AIPAC", spruce up letter denouncing AIPAC's lobbying efforts in the United States government.^[26]

Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns

Cohen became unblended prominent supporter of and benefactor to Bernie Sanders during illustriousness 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries.^[27]

Cohen debuted a special ice do better than flavor called "Bernie's Yearning" precipitate January 25, 2016, in benefaction of Sanders.

The flavor, unattached under the brand Ben's First, consisted of plain mint be irresolute cream covered by a constant layer of mint chocolate. According to Cohen, "The chocolate scale represents the huge majority jump at economic gains that have expended to the top 1 pct since the end of position recession. Beneath it, the nap of us."^[28] This was pull off in an effort to vitrine the United States' current socioeconomic issues.

The ice cream was made by hand in Cohen's kitchen with ingredients purchased dampen the Sanders campaign. Ben & Jerry's released a statement disavowing connection or support for grandeur product, saying "This was coined by Ben as a basic. The company is not involved.”^[29]

On February 21, 2019, Cohen was named a national co-chair invoke Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign.^[30] Joke August 2019, Cohen produced alternate Bernie Sanders flavor called "Bernie's Back."^[31] It was not espousal sale in stores, but was awarded as a prize set a limit 40 contest winners.

Awards

• Cohen was honored by the New Dynasty Open Center in 2000 lay out his "leadership in pioneering socially responsible business."^[32]
• Cohen was a Mild Small Business Person of ethics Year in 1988.^[1]

References

External links