Jerry Greenfield and Ben Cohen had failed at everything they tried to do. Ben wanted to be a potter, but nobody bought his pottery. Jerry wanted to be a doctor, but medical schools wouldn't accept him. Friends since junior high school, the two decided to try a new career based on something they both loved--ice cream. After taking a correspondence course in ice cream making, they opened the first Ben and Jerry's ice cream parlor in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont.

Twenty-seven years later, Ben and Jerry's is a multi-million dollar business, producing approximately 15 million gallons of ice cream annually. Now owned by Unilever, a British-Dutch food company, Ben and Jerry's unique flavors are popular throughout the world, and the company's commitment to the environment is well-known. We chilled for a while with Jerry Greenfield, talking about his successful ice cream company.

BABA: Hi, Jerry. What's your favorite ice cream flavor, and how much ice cream do you eat?

JERRY: I like Heath Bar Crunch quite a bit, but I eat them all. I probably average a couple of pints a week.

BABA: How does Ben and Jerry's promote environmental awareness?

JERRY: We do a lot of recycling, and we try to make sure that we minimize our dairy waste from producing ice cream. We also do a lot of things to conserve energy, like using very high-efficiency motors and light bulbs. So we really try to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Environmental awareness is very important to us because we all live on this beautiful planet, and if we want to continue to do so, we need to make sure that we don't destroy it.

BABA: How can our readers help the environment?

JERRY: There are things you can do by yourself, like not wasting things, and not using things that you don't need. You can also encourage your parents and neighbors to reduce their usage and recycle. A lot of times, people feel like they can't do anything by themselves that will have an impact, but the fact is that each person can make a difference.

BABA: Our theme this month is l'avdah u'leshamarah (protecting the environment). How do you balance the tension between the needs of humans and the oftentimes competing needs of the planet?

JERRY: I believe that humans have the responsibility to be stewards of the Earth. We're privileged to work the land and develop it, but also, we must be sensitive to the planet or we'll exhaust its resources. If we want to have a world that supports us and allows us to live, we need to take care of it.

BABA: How did protecting the environment become such an important part of your company?

JERRY: We're based in Vermont, which is a very beautiful state, and it's very rural. There are a lot of farms here, and the general feeling around here is that we need to protect the environment.

BABA: How has Judaism affected your life?

JERRY: I was raised in a Jewish home, went to temple and Sunday school, and celebrated becoming a bar mitzvah. Although Judaism has influenced my attitude toward the environment, it has affected me more in terms of my commitment to social justice. I'm president of the Ben and Jerry's Foundation, which gives money to nonprofit groups that protect civil rights and work on environmental justice issues.

BABA: What's your favorite part of your job?

JERRY: I like giving out free ice cream! We have Free Cone Day every year in April, when all the Ben and Jerry's scoop shops give out free ice cream all day. And there's always some kind of ice cream giveaway that's going on during the year.

BABA: Thanks, Jerry. Happy Tu B'Shevat!

Zoom In
Ben & Jerry’s in Israel
Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is sold in Israel, and some of the flavors there are specifically for the Israeli market. One favorite is Pesek Zman, a vanilla ice cream with chunks of the popular Pesek Zman chocolate bar. Ben & Jerry’s also produces Milk & Honey ice cream around Rosh Hashanah, and Matza Crunch around Pesach.