World famous ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s has come out (if you’ll pardon the expression) in support of gay marriage. They are celebrating Vermont’s legalisation of same-sex marriage by changing the name of their “Chubby Hubby” ice cream to “Hubby Hubby”.
The fudge-covered peanut-butter filled salty pretzel wangs and vanilla ice cream will be sold in a carton featuring a rainbow arching over a wedding cake with two grooms on top and will only be available in Vermont for the month of September.
Well known as tree-huggers and do-gooder co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield sold out to consumer brand giants Unilever nearly a decade ago, but still remain involved in the company, particularly its ideologies.
There will of course be a backlash to this as many North Americans are still opposed to gay marriage (California – shame on you.) You can hear the inevitable fudge and salty pretzel jokes already… but Ben & Jerry’s are sticking to their guns.
Walt Freese, Chief Executive Officer of Ben & Jerry`s released the following statement: “At the core of Ben & Jerry`s values, we believe that social justice can and
should be something that every human being is entitled to.”
“From the very beginning of our 30 year history, we have supported equal rights for all people. The legalisation of marriage for gay and lesbian couples in Vermont is certainly a step in the right direction and something worth celebrating with peace, love and plenty of ice cream.”
The other U.S. states that have approved gay marriage laws are Iowa, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. New Hampshire’s law will take effect 1 January 2010.
What do you think? Would you buy gay ice-cream?