Deep Throat said it best: “Follow the money.” Do the deep pockets at Unilever know where theirs is going? The multinational food, home care, and personal care empire — which includes brands like Lipton tea, Ragu spaghetti sauce, and Dove soap — is helping to pay for the activities of the anti-corporate Ruckus Society.
The Financial Times reports that when Unilever bought the Ben & Jerry’s company last year, the left-leaning ice cream makers required Unilever to kick in $5 million to the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, and at least $1.1 million each year for “social change” groups. The Foundation in turn gave $100,000 to Ruckus, which runs “action camps” before major protests to train activists in “urban climbing and rappelling,” “police confrontation strategies,” and other forms of disruption. These protests have resulted in destruction of Starbucks, McDonald’s, and other food franchises.
The director of Ruckus, John Sellers, is thrilled. “It is great that it is Unilever money,” he said. “There is no better way to launder multinational largesse than giving it to the movement that is confronting it.”
