From supporting worthy causes to jumping on the latest trends, Ben & Jerry’s has never been afraid to make big moves. And recently, the Vermont-based ice cream manufacturer has expressed interest in hopping on the CBD — or cannabidiol — food trend and releasing its own CBD-infused pint the second CBD-infused food and drinks are legalized at the federal level.
On May 31, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held its first public hearing on a plan to legalize CBD in food and drinks. According to CBS News, CBD is expected to be a $20 billion dollar industry by 2020, and Ben & Jerry’s has plans to hop on the CBD trend.
“We’ve submitted a comment to them in support of legalization,” Ben & Jerry’s CEO Matthew McCarthy said in a statement released last week. “We’re doing this for our fans. We’ve listened and brought them everything from non-dairy indulgences to on-the-go portions with our Pint Slices. We aspire to love our fans more than they love us, and we want to give them what they’re looking for in a Ben & Jerry’s way.”
The FDA’s public hearing consisted of 10 hours of testimony from 120 hemp growers, academic researchers, consumer advocates and start-up businesses. Over 400 people and groups applied to speak at the hearing. In the end, the FDA set a deadline of July 2 for written comments on the issue.
Ben & Jerry’s said, if approved, they plan to use sustainably sourced CBD from its home state, Vermont.
Currently, Ben & Jerry’s sources its brownies from Greyston Bakery, “which has an innovative open-door hiring policy,” and its cookie dough comes from Rhino Foods, “which employs refugees and sources its dairy locally from the St. Albans Co-op.”
For updates on Ben & Jerry’s progress and/or to support the legalization of CBD foods and beverages, visit Ben & Jerry’s website, where they’ve also listed a link to send the FDA a written comment before its deadline.
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