Ice Cream Social: The Struggle for the Soul of Ben & Jerry's
When you think of Ben & Jerry’s, you probably think of two laid-back hippies who just wanted to produce “ice cream for the people.” And though the origin mythology of this no-holds-barred superpremium chunky ice cream pretty much holds true to the legend, the fact is that the brand was sold to Unilever in 2000 and is now part of a multinational corporation, much to the consternation of social entrepreneurs everywhere. This is the story of how the Ben & Jerry’s team fought to retain the counterculture values and social missions that the founders successfully instilled into the company: paying employees a living wage, treating their cows responsibly, and pouring a good portion of profits into causes such as child poverty, world peace, human rights, and the environment; it is also a story of how those values have been compromised. Edmondson traces the journey from the first ice-cream store, in a renovated gas station in South Burlington, Vermont, in 1978, through several expansion cycles and the success that ultimately led to the controversial sale. --David Siegfried