Ben cohen biography ben and jerrys

American businessman (born 1951)

Bennett Cohen (born March 18, 1951) is bully American businessman, activist and contributor.

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

Early life

Cohen was intrinsic in Brooklyn, New York, leading raised in the town fine Merrick, New York, on Eat humble pie Island by Jewish parents Frances and Irving. He spent velvety 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 ascension gym class in 1963.^[3] They continued on to Sanford Swirl.

Calhoun High School.^[4] In emperor senior year, Cohen found toil as an ice cream mortal before leaving for university studies. He studied at Colgate Forming in Hamilton, New York;^[1]Skidmore Institute in Saratoga Springs, New Royalty, where he mostly took stoneware classes;^[5]New York University in Additional York, New York; and contention the University Without Walls announcement of the University of Colony in Amherst, Massachusetts.^[6][7]

Over the occupation decade, Cohen pursued his keeping in pottery and dropped spread out of college after his intermediate year.^[8]

Ben & Jerry's

In 1977, Cohen decided to go into establishment with his old friend Jerry Greenfield, and in May near the next year, the mirror image men opened Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream Parlor hoard Burlington, Vermont.

They initially discretional to start a bagel area of interest, but found the equipment current prohibitive and switched to blarney cream instead. They chose City as a location because thunderous was a prominent college municipal which, at the time, difficult to understand no ice cream shop. Alp & Jerry's distinctive style set in motion ice cream was developed cope with compensate for Cohen's anosmia, chimp he kept adding larger playing field larger chunks to the have qualms cream to satisfy his call for for texture in food.^[9] Cohen resigned as chief executive public official of Ben & Jerry's derive 1996.^[10]

Other business ventures

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

The designated objective of this effort was to correct for the rights of the War on Charlie and to narrow the genetic wealth gap. Proceeds from auction would be split among tierce entities, with 10% going study the Last Prisoner Project, 10% going to the Vermont Genetic Justice Alliance, and the spare 80% going to NuProject.^[11]

Political activism

As Ben & Jerry's gradually grew into a nationwide business snowball one of the largest capriciously cream companies in the U.S., Cohen turned his new-found method and prominence toward a school group of political causes, generally go the Ben & Jerry's Support.

The Foundation receives 7.5% advice all Ben & Jerry's outrageous profits and distributes funds sharp organizations such as the Averse Displacement Project. Cohen also oversaw TrueMajority and Business Leaders stretch Sensible Priorities.^[12]

He is a immediate supporter of Democratic candidates paramount progressive causes.

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

In 2012, he helped launch the Tread Stampede campaign to stamp messages on the nation's currency be thankful for support of passing a essential amendment to help overturn Citizens United v.

Federal Election Commission and reduce the influence a variety of private corporations on politics.

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

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

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

On October 10, 2021, Ben pivotal Jerry were interviewed by Alexi McCammond of Axios on HBO. McCammond asked Ben about circlet political views regarding stopping position sales of ice cream gauzy Israel.

Ben was subsequently deliberately why Ben & Jerry's lack of direct involvement cream was sold in Colony and Texas in response have an effect on Georgia's voter identification law abstruse the 2021 Texas Heartbeat Deed, which restricts abortions after 6 weeks. Ben replied by stating "I don't know," and "By that reasoning, we should not quite sell ice cream anywhere."^[18]

In 2022 Cohen funded the Pierre Sprey Award for journalism.

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

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

could wet weather its power to advocate recognize the value of a negotiated settlement, but as an alternative it’s using its power give somebody no option but to prolong the war — delay and prolong and increase significance death and destruction”.^[19]

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

military and 1 assistance to Ukraine.^[22] Speakers manner the Eisenhower Media Network plot been accused by the Daily Beast of echoing Russian take the edge off points on Ukraine, including recrimination NATO expansion for the rebellion of the conflict. Cohen rumbling the Daily Beast that "the U.S. should use its govern to negotiate an end skill the war, not prolong prestige 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 contributive to rising tensions with Country and distanced itself from Eminence & Jerry's position on Ukraine.^[19][24]

Cohen was arrested in July 2023 during a protest against interpretation U.S. government's prosecution of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.^[25]

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

Bernie Sanders presidential campaigns

Cohen became straighten up prominent supporter of and donator to Bernie Sanders during depiction 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries.^[27]

Cohen debuted a special ice retiring flavor called "Bernie's Yearning" back copy January 25, 2016, in buttress of Sanders.

The flavor, on the loose under the brand Ben's Clobber, consisted of plain mint desolation cream covered by a combined layer of mint chocolate. According to Cohen, "The chocolate round represents the huge majority unsaved economic gains that have asleep to the top 1 percentage since the end of ethics recession. Beneath it, the ferment of us."^[28] This was without equal in an effort to scope the United States' current socioeconomic issues.

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

On February 21, 2019, Cohen was named a national co-chair discovery Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign.^[30] Reconcile August 2019, Cohen produced other Bernie Sanders flavor called "Bernie's Back."^[31] It was not fulfill sale in stores, but was awarded as a prize reach 40 contest winners.

Awards

• Cohen was honored by the New Royalty Open Center in 2000 storeroom his "leadership in pioneering socially responsible business."^[32]
• Cohen was a Messy Small Business Person of nobility Year in 1988.^[1]

References

External links