On February 10, 2020, I wrote about how Ben and Jerry’s were Sued Over Whether its Cows are Happy. An environmentalist, James Ehlers, claimed that many of the cows that produce Ben & Jerry’s milk are raised on factory-style farms and are not enrolled in the company’s “caring dairy” program. He alleged that Ben & Jerry’s misled consumers by claiming its ice cream comes from “happy cows.”
That lawsuit has been dismissed. Vermont federal Judge Christina Reiss recently dismissed the lawsuit. She determined that the fine print on Ben & Jerry’s website makes it clear that not all of the ice cream is sourced from cows enrolled in the “Happy Dairy” program. Her ruling states that the website notes that the program is one that “participating farms” join “voluntarily.” The Judge determined Ben & Jerry’s therefore did not claim all its milk was sourced from “happy cows.” She also wrote that because the company has since removed the “happy” label from its packaging, there’s no possibility for future misleading advertising.
