Weekend edition—Ben & Jerry’s politics, rethinking GMOs, Bezos in space

The founders of Ben & Jerry’s may be known as hippie throwbacks, but in many ways they were ahead of their time. From their earliest days making ice cream in Vermont, they cared passionately about supporting sustainable agriculture, paying a living wage, and speaking out on social issues that on the surface seemed unconnected to their product.

Founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield put those principles at risk with the company’s controversial sale in 2000 to Unilever, the global consumer products giant. But in the 20-plus years since, the mission-driven brand has largely stuck to its core values while keeping the peace with its corporate overlords. Until now.

This week, under pressure from pro-Palestinian activists and Ben & Jerry’s own board, the company announced it would stop selling ice cream in the Israeli-occupied territories, saying it was “inconsistent with our values” to do business there. But the brand, along with Unilever in its own statement, indicated it would continue to operate in Israel proper.

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