They were shocked by what we had found and promised they would get back to us after they met with their farmers.
After some months, they finally informed us that their farmers, with whom they had a 30-year relationship, did not want to change their practices.
We looked at the disgusting treatment of labor, the abusive treatment of animals, the low price of milk, the bankruptcy and suicide of farmers, the dairy pollution of water, the excessive use of antibiotics, and the deterioration of our rural communities.
We shared all of our research on labor abuse, animal abuse, farm bankruptcy, water pollution, and damaged rural communities with Ben & Jerry’s.
In February, a Unilever director offered to set up meetings with Ben & Jerry’s CEO and us (Regeneration Vermont) and Roger Allbee, the former Vermont secretary of agriculture.
Finally, April or May was to be the target date for making sourcing decisions.
It is now July — still no decision, still no meeting with the CEO.
They are also stalling with Migrant Justice.
In 2000, Unilever paid $326 million for Ben & Jerry’s.
With the current glut of low price milk, it is obvious that Unilever’s plan is to take advantage of this disaster on the farms and make as much money as possible while stalling us, Migrant Justice, and everyone else taking aim at its dirty deeds.