If you are one of the 90% of Americans who regularly eats ice cream, then you most likely are familiar with the ice cream brand Ben and Jerry’s.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of Ben and Jerry’s, were two of the roughly 300 protesters arrested in Washington D.C at a protest demonstrating about money in politics.
They were a part of the group Democracy Awakening, which is an organization that represents labor, peace, environmental, student, racial justice, civil rights, and money in politics reform movements.
Reported on NPR and released on their website, Ben and Jerry expressed in a statement that money in politics is an issue they deeply care about.
The company explains its stance: “At Ben and Jerry’s, we love dough so much, we invented Cookie Dough ice cream. But dough doesn’t mix well with democracy. In fact, there’s so much big money flooding into our elections in the United States that the voice of regular folks is being drowned out.”
The pair believes it is time to get money out of politics and that presidential nominee Bernie Sanders is the right person for the job.
They urge their customers to join a movement of citizens working to diminish the role of money in the political process.
The U.S Capital Police in Washington, D.C., charged Cohen and Greenfield with unlawful demonstration activity, then processed and released them on the scene.
This is not the first time these two have spoken out on political issues.
However, this presidential election is the first where they have personally made an ice cream flavor to help a candidate get elected. “Bernie’s Yearning” is a plain mint ice cream beneath a solid layer of chocolate on top.