Ben Cohen (ice cream)
Encyclopedia
Ben Cohen is a co-founder of the ice cream company Ben & Jerry's
.
on Long Island
by his parents Frances and Irving, Cohen first met and befriended his future business partner, Jerry Greenfield
, in a junior high school gym class in 1963. In his senior year, Cohen found work as an ice cream man
before heading off to attend Colgate University
upstate.
Over the next decade, Cohen pursued his interest in pottery as he mixed further education - Skidmore
, the University Without Walls program, the New School, and NYU
- with a vast variety of menial labor - gigs as a McDonald's
cashier, a Pinkerton guard, deliverer of pottery wheels, a mop-boy at Jamesway
and Friendly's
, an assistant superintendent, an ER
clerk, and a taxi driver - before eventually settling on work as a craft teacher at a private school for emotionally disturbed adolescents. It was during his three years at the Highland Community School that he began experimenting with making his own ice cream.
. They had initially intended to start a bagel
business, but found the equipment costs prohibitive and switched to ice cream instead, choosing Burlington as a location because it was a prominent college town which lacked an ice cream shop. In part, their distinctive style of ice cream was developed to compensate for Ben's anosmia
- his loss of smell and near-loss of taste - as Ben kept adding larger and larger chunks to the ice cream to satisfy his need for texture in food.
Ben & Jerry's became an instant hit in Burlington, drawing crowds with ice creams that mixed fresh local cream and milk with wild new flavors and "large portions of whatever ingredients they felt tasted good on the day of making."
Ben resigned as Chief Executive Officer in 1996. Ben has not been actively involved with the company since the Unilever
acquisition in 2000, apart from his membership on the advisory board.
and Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities
.
Cohen has been an active voice in favor of liberal
causes. He supports small-scale farming, does not accept milk with rBGH
or other implants, and has heavily criticized US budgetary priorities, pointing out that more money is spent on nuclear weapons than on children's healthcare programs. He is also vocal in his support of Democratic
candidates, including Dennis Kucinich
for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination in 2004
and John Edwards
followed by Barack Obama
in 2008.
or an ex-hippie. He is also a noted fan of the Grateful Dead
.
As mentioned in the documentary film Super Size Me
, Ben underwent a quintuple bypass
in 2001, at the age of 49, to clear blocked arteries. John Robbins (son of one of the founders of Baskin-Robbins
) attributes the heart ailment to Ben Cohen's excessive consumption of ice cream.
Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's is an American ice cream company, a division of the British-Dutch Unilever conglomerate, that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, and ice cream novelty products, manufactured by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings, Inc., headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont, United...
.
Early life
Raised in the town of MerrickMerrick, New York
Merrick is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 22,097. The name "Merrick" is taken from Meroke, the name of the Algonquian tribe formerly indigenous to the area...
on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
by his parents Frances and Irving, Cohen first met and befriended his future business partner, Jerry Greenfield
Jerry Greenfield
Jerry Greenfield is a co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings, Inc.Throughout his childhood, Greenfield lived in New York, on Long Island. In 1969, he enrolled at Oberlin College, where he followed a pre-med curriculum before graduating in 1973...
, in a junior high school gym class in 1963. In his senior year, Cohen found work as an ice cream man
Ice cream van
An ice cream van or ice cream truck is a commercial vehicle which serves as a travelling retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or near parks, beaches, or other areas where people congregate...
before heading off to attend Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
upstate.
Over the next decade, Cohen pursued his interest in pottery as he mixed further education - Skidmore
Skidmore College
Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
, the University Without Walls program, the New School, and NYU
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
- with a vast variety of menial labor - gigs as a McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
cashier, a Pinkerton guard, deliverer of pottery wheels, a mop-boy at Jamesway
Jamesway
Jamesway was a chain of discount department stores based in Secaucus, New Jersey. It was founded in 1961 with a store in Jamestown, New York, and at its peak operated 138 stores in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions....
and Friendly's
Friendly's
Friendly Ice Cream Corporation is the owner and operator of the Friendly's restaurant chain on the United States' East Coast. Founded in 1935 in Springfield, Massachusetts by brothers Curtis Blake and S. Prestley Blake, 20, their first shop served double-dip cones for 5 cents...
, an assistant superintendent, an ER
Emergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
clerk, and a taxi driver - before eventually settling on work as a craft teacher at a private school for emotionally disturbed adolescents. It was during his three years at the Highland Community School that he began experimenting with making his own ice cream.
Ben & Jerry's
By 1977, Ben had decided to go into the food business with his old friend Jerry Greenfield, and in May of the next year, the two men opened Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream Parlor in Burlington, VermontBurlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
. They had initially intended to start a bagel
Bagel
A bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior...
business, but found the equipment costs prohibitive and switched to ice cream instead, choosing Burlington as a location because it was a prominent college town which lacked an ice cream shop. In part, their distinctive style of ice cream was developed to compensate for Ben's anosmia
Anosmia
Anosmia is a lack of functioning olfaction, or in other words, an inability to perceive odors. Anosmia may be either temporary or permanent. A related term, hyposmia, refers to a decreased ability to smell, while hyperosmia refers to an increased ability to smell. Some people may be anosmic for one...
- his loss of smell and near-loss of taste - as Ben kept adding larger and larger chunks to the ice cream to satisfy his need for texture in food.
Ben & Jerry's became an instant hit in Burlington, drawing crowds with ice creams that mixed fresh local cream and milk with wild new flavors and "large portions of whatever ingredients they felt tasted good on the day of making."
Ben resigned as Chief Executive Officer in 1996. Ben has not been actively involved with the company since the Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....
acquisition in 2000, apart from his membership on the advisory board.
Social activism
As Ben & Jerry's gradually grew into a nationwide business and one of the largest ice cream companies in the USA, Cohen turned his new-found wealth and prominence toward a variety of social causes, generally through the Ben & Jerry's Foundation. The Foundation receives 7.5% of all Ben & Jerry's pre-tax profits and distributes funds to organizations such as the Anti Displacement Project. Cohen also oversees TrueMajorityTrueMajority
TrueMajority is a liberal advocacy group in the United States. In 2008 TrueMajority had over 700,000 members, making it, together with MoveOn, one of the two largest liberal advocacy groups in the U.S...
and Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities
Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities
Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities is a nonprofit organization composed of 700 business leaders. In late 2008 the organization became a project of the Center for American Progress and was put under the direction of Krisila Benson...
.
Cohen has been an active voice in favor of liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
causes. He supports small-scale farming, does not accept milk with rBGH
Bovine somatotropin
Bovine somatotropin , or BGH, is a chain of amino acids produced by the cow's pituitary gland. Like other hormones, it is produced in small quantities and is used in regulating metabolic processes...
or other implants, and has heavily criticized US budgetary priorities, pointing out that more money is spent on nuclear weapons than on children's healthcare programs. He is also vocal in his support of Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidates, including Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination in 2004
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2004
The 2004 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 U.S. presidential election...
and John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
followed by Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
in 2008.
Personal
Cohen has often been described, not least by himself, as a hippieHippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
or an ex-hippie. He is also a noted fan of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
.
As mentioned in the documentary film Super Size Me
Super Size Me
Super Size Me is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he eats only McDonald's food...
, Ben underwent a quintuple bypass
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
in 2001, at the age of 49, to clear blocked arteries. John Robbins (son of one of the founders of Baskin-Robbins
Baskin-Robbins
Baskin-Robbins is a global chain of ice cream parlors founded by Burt Baskin and Irvine Robbins in 1953, from the merging of their respective ice cream parlors, in Glendale, California. It claims to be the world's largest ice cream franchise, with more than 5,800 locations, 2,800 of which are...
) attributes the heart ailment to Ben Cohen's excessive consumption of ice cream.
Honors
- Ben Cohen was honored by the New York Open Center in 2000 for his "leadership in pioneering socially responsible business."
- Ben Cohen was a US Small Business Person of the Year in 1988.