Carb Countdown Milk turned traitor?

Maybe. Maybe not.


For those of you who have enjoyed an occasional glass of Hood's Carb Countdown Milk, I have good news - and bad news. The good news is that you can still find this product in the stores you are currently buying them from. The bad news is you'll have to look for a different name. They are now calling it Calorie Countdown.

Here's what Hood's web site has to say about it:

Hood introduces Calorie CountdownTM, a line of rich and creamy dairy beverages that provide the wholesome, delicious nutrition of milk without all the sugar, calories and carbohydrates. Available in Fat Free and 2% Reduced Fat White, and 2% Reduced Fat Chocolate varieties, Hood Calorie Countdown Dairy Beverages can be found in the refrigerated dairy section of retailers nationwide. Enjoy it with a meal, a snack or in your favorite recipes!

Please Note: Although we've changed the Carb Countdown® name to Calorie Countdown, it has all the great taste and nutrition you enjoy!

I'm sure this change was in order to promote more sales. Since the media keeps reporting the demise of low-carb, which we all know is hogwash, people are now back to looking for low-calorie items. My response? Pfhtttt! With huge eye rolls. I'm tired of the name-switching game. It frustrated me to see some products changed from a low-carb name to low-calorie or even "South Beach acceptable" label. It's nothing against South Beach, but what was wrong with the name it had before?

This is just one of many products changing it's name to save face with the supermarkets and media. Another disappointment was Dana Carpender's book "Every Calorie Counts". I'm not upset with Dana.. I know she had to change the name to get it published. Her publisher told her, in so many words, "low-carb isn't selling any more so we aren't publishing any more lc books". I just think it's sad that we have to change in order to get the products we want.

This has been a widely discussed topic in blogs and forums across the internet. Many with mixed feelings, myself included.

Now, I am happy that I can still atleast get these items, even if I have to look a little harder for them now that low-carb isn't on the label. But I do feel a bit betrayed. As an active low-carber who's been living this way for years, I've seen these products come and go. I've been faithful to support the products that were good and true to the low-carb way of life. I've also been faithful to boycott the items that claimed to be sugar-free or low-carb but were loaded with HFCS and other junk. I, and others like me, helped promote these products. I, and others like me, kept them going by buying their products and using them faithfully. Just because the "low-carb craze" is over, and I'm thankful it is, doesn't mean that there aren't thousands, or more, low-carbers left still willing to buy their products. Why, you ask, did so many low-carb retailers and products go out of business if there are that many lcers out there? It's simple really. Because the retailers either charged much more than the average person was willing to pay, or their products weren't truly low-carb and were doing more harm than good, so we stopped buying them.

So, do we compromise in order to keep our scarce, but wanted products available to us? Or do we demand that we be treated with the same respect shown to all the other dieters in the world and insist that labeling stay the same on our favorite products?

Did Hood, and other companies like them, commit mutiny against legions of low-carb enthusiasts all over the world?

Maybe. But maybe it's out fault as well. Maybe lcers aren't making their voice heard loud enough, which in turn makes all the media hype seem logical to these companies.

You be the judge.