Politics have always been dramatic and a little ridiculous. Our founding fathers regularly talked trash about one another in the papers, burned one another's houses down, and Alexander Hamilton had so much beef with so many people that he got a whole musical out of it. 2018 has crossed over into the outright absurd, though. Somehow, food became a major political player. Well-done steaks and diet cokes really matter. A Texas election is seriously focused on White Castle v Whataburger. Now ice cream is mad at the president.
Ben & Jerry's has long been known for embracing current social events in their ice cream names and flavors. They even call themselves an "aspiring social justice company." Their most recently released flavor is a chocolate and nut ice cream. The flavor is officially described:
"Chocolate ice cream with white & dark fudge chunks, pecans, walnuts & fudge-covered almonds, with the goal of bringing deeply important values to freezers across the country."
The name: Pecan Resist. The container art features women holding up a resist sign and has a paragraph written about the message Ben & Jerry's wanted to send.
Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's
The company did a press release and even tweeted about the flavor:
Before we go any further, we're going to take a moment to acknowledge the people who are "salty" because the name requires you to say pee-can. Moment of nut-related silence for you guys.
The announcement has been given a pretty mixed reception. Some people are into it.
It upset quite a few people, though. There were plenty of jokes - some quite racist - about the "liberal" flavor being full of chocolate and nuts. Tons of people felt that the flavor alienated them as Trump supporters or non-liberals. Most of all, though, people just wanted non-politicized ice cream.
Folks just want to eat.
Purchases of the flavor will go towards aiding four different organizations. Ben & Jerry's has chosen to support:
Color Of Change, which works towards racial justice.
Women's March, which aims to unify women and empower them for social change.
Neta, a bilingual multimedia platform which works to provide a voice for people of color, particularly along the Mexico/US border.
Honor The Earth, an organization dedicated to raising awareness and support for Native environmental issues.
So what do you think? Are you down with frozen dairy treats having a political agenda? Does this one hit the right notes? The flavor sounds delicious, either way.
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