One co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s has quit the business after 47 years, citing the loss of the company’s independence under parent company Unilever to support social campaigns.

Only last week, Ben & Jerry’s released a statement asking to be freed from its ownership to be able to focus on its “social justice mission”. Now, one of their original members, Jerry Greenfield, has announced his departure, saying he had made “one of the hardest and most painful decisions I’ve ever made”.

Sharing Mr Greenfield’s departure message on social media, fellow co-founder Ben Cohen said: “Jerry has made the difficult decision to step down from the company we built together. I’m sharing his words as he resigns from Ben & Jerry’s. His legacy deserves to be true to our values, not silenced.”

The departure of Mr Greenfield marks the most significant escalation of the row between the ice cream firm and its parent company, which has been ongoing for years despite an original independence clause signed when Unilever bought the brand.

Mr Greenfield’s exit comes as Unilever are preparing to spin off its ice cream businesses under the brand of the Magnum Ice Cream Company (MICC), which is to include Ben & Jerry’s.

His decision, said the co-founder, was resulting in a “broken heart”, but he had decided he could “no longer in good conscience” remain at the business.

“What allowed the company to be more than just an ice cream company was the independence to pursue our values, which was guaranteed when Unilever bought the company,” Mr Greenfield wrote in his letter.

“For more than 20 years under their ownership, Ben & Jerry’s spoke out in support of peace, justice and human rights, not as abstract concepts but in relation to real events happening in our world.

“It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone.

“And it’s happening at a time when our country’s current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women and the LGBTQ community.

“Standing up for the values of justice, equity and our shared humanity has never been more important, yet Ben & Jerry’s has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power. It’s easy to stand up and speak out when there’s nothing at risk.”

As well as speaking out against the US administration, Ben & Jerry’s was one of hundreds of companies that have written to the UK government to warn that draft guidance over single-sex spaces is “unworkable”.

Earlier this year, Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of forcibly removing their CEO without permission from the company’s independent board, while last year they brought a lawsuit against Unilever for silencing their efforts to support Palestinians.

Unilever bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, but the co-founders have reportedly tried to buy the company back – with the larger firm insisting it was not for sale. Unilever has a market value of more than £110bn and is the fourth-biggest firm listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Along with the causes noted by Mr Greenfield in his exit message, Ben & Jerry’s have a history of fighting for many social justice causes.

In 2005, they joined a protest outside the US Capitol fighting against oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge. They have also changed the names of their ice cream flavours to support same-sex marriage, launched a protest against Australia dumping refuse in the Great Barrier Reef marine park and also joined a massive petition against the UK government in 2020 arguing for asylum seekers to be given the right to work.

A spokesperson from the Magnum Ice Cream Company said it had looked to discuss matters prior to Mr Greenfield’s exit.

“We disagree with his perspective and have sought to engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s powerful values-based position in the world,” they said.