Ben & Jerry's Sows Fresh Campaign to Help Small-Scale Family Farms

ew Ad Aims to Support and Raise Awareness of the Plight of Smaller Family Farms

BURLINGTON, VT (Monday, October 17, 2005) - --"Business has a responsibility to the community and the environment" is Ben & Jerry's mantra and the company is putting its money where its mouth is. Ben & Jerry's is debuting a powerful, issue-oriented television ad tackling the issue of the rapid disappearance of America's farms.


Beginning on October 17, the commercial, highlighting the struggles of small-scale family farming in the face of the growth of industrial agriculture, will air on network and cable television during early morning, primetime, late night and access programs. The campaign was created by Amalgamated in New York and shot by Jake Scott, who has directed videos for several bands including REM, U2 and Radiohead. The campaign will air in eight key markets - Boston; Burlington, Vermont; Denver; New York; San Francisco; Portland, Oregon; Seattle and Washington, DC - though November.

The ad features Mike Eastman, a first-generation Vermont dairy farmer, and communicates the message that America loses 330 farms every week due in large part to the proliferation of industrial agriculture, encroaching urban development and other economic shifts in agriculture.

With this ad, Ben & Jerry's is asking viewers to log on to www.benjerry.com/familyfarms to find timely action steps to take on behalf of small and mid-sized family farms. Consumers can ask Congress to further national farmer-friendly legislation, through vehicles such as the 2007 Farm Bill, to protect small and mid-sized farms while slowing the expansion of industrial farming.

The most immediate step consumers can take is to send a personalized letter to their representatives urging support for the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC). This program, which helps dairy farmers survive during lean times, expired on September 30, 2005. Ben & Jerry's and the National Farmers Union have embarked on this collaborative effort to extend the MILC program and are urging both producers and consumers to help send this message to Congress.

"These ads aren't about selling ice cream," said Walt Freese, Ben & Jerry's CEO. "We're trying to initiate public dialogue about the fact that small and mid-size family farms are in danger of disappearing. We think Ben & Jerry's consumers care about this issue as much as we do, so we're using our marketing dollars to encourage them to tell Congress that smaller family farms are important to a diverse food supply."

According to the USDA, the total number of US farms has declined from about 7 million in the 1930s to just over two million in 2003. At the same time, the number of industrial-sized farms continues to grow and government incentives continue to favor them.

"Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield built Ben & Jerry's on the idea that business should play a central role in society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally and internationally," said Dave Stever, Ben & Jerry's Marketing Director. "Ben & Jerry's is a long-time supporter of small-scale family farms. We're especially proud of our 20-year relationship with the 500 family farmers of the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery in Vermont."

Ben & Jerry's uses St. Albans' milk and cream in its ice cream flavors and pays a premium for the farmers' pledge not to treat cows with Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), a synthetic hormone that increases cows' milk production. While rBGH is commonly used elsewhere in the dairy industry, Ben & Jerry's believes it is a step in the wrong direction toward a synthetic, chemically-intensive food supply.

The company has launched a number of initiatives over the years to support small to mid-size family farms and sustainable practices in the dairy sector, specifically the Vermont Dairy Stewardship Alliance, the Vermont Dairy Farm Sustainability Project and the Caring Dairy Program in Europe, all of which focus on sustainable agriculture and the support of small-scale farms.

"The introduction of our line of organic ice cream and our commitment to natural ingredients speaks to our engagement with the cause of sustainable agriculture. We also recently switched the coffee extract in all our coffee flavors to Fair Trade Certified, adding an extra layer of assurance that we're supporting smaller family farms in developing countries by guaranteeing a fair wage," said Yola Carlough, Ben & Jerry's Social Mission Director. "These efforts alone won't save small-scale family farms, but they are an important way to put our values into action."

Ben & Jerry's has engaged with the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) as its content partner to develop this campaign and enrich its understanding of small-scale farming and sustainable agriculture. UCS is a nonprofit partnership of scientists and citizens making great strides in the way humanity perceives its role as steward of the earth and investigating topics related to protecting and improving the health of our environment.

For more information about Ben & Jerry's initiative to help small to mid-size family farms, visit www.benjerry.com/familyfarms.

About Ben & Jerry's

Ben & Jerry's produces a wide variety of super-premium ice cream and ice cream novelties, using dairy products from a Vermont dairy cooperative and high-quality ingredients. The company is committed to using milk and cream from cows that have not been treated with the synthetic hormone rBGH, and states its position on rBGH on its labels. Ben and Jerry's products are distributed nationwide and in selected foreign countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, franchise Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops, restaurants and other venues.

Ben & Jerry's, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever, operates its business on a three-part mission statement emphasizing product quality, economic reward and a commitment to the community. Ben & Jerry's contributes a minimum of $1.1 million annually through corporate philanthropy that is primarily employee led. Contributions made via the Ben & Jerry's Foundation in 2004 totaled over $1.2 million. Additionally, the company makes significant product donations to community groups and nonprofits both in Vermont and across the nation. The purpose of Ben & Jerry's philanthropy is to support the founding values of the company: economic and social justice, environmental restoration and peace through understanding, and to support our Vermont communities. For the full scoop on all Ben & Jerry's fabulous flavors, visit www.benjerry.com

For More Infromation Please contact:
Julie Masow
M Booth & Associates
Phone: (212) 481-7000
Email: juliem@mbooth.com

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