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Unintended Consequences, Even if PepsiCo Does the Right Thing

I don't see the point of fussing over food additives, mainly because of the poor signal-to-noise ratio in the family of debates. It's ridiculously easy for anyone to self-publish whatever raving hysteria suits him/her that day. (No, the irony of the previous sentence is not lost on me.) Name a substance, and I can find you a web page that says it'll kill you, supported by important-sounding research from an important-sounding Institute or Center for Study. I can also find you folks who have smoked two packs of cigarettes a day and drunk a liter of bourbon a week for 50 years, yet who claim the artificial coloring in their daily 2:45 "cheez" 'n' crackers is what has given them cancer.

I've never particularly watched additives in what I consume, not only for the above reason but because a) the additives I need to concern myself with are more like BEEF FAT in those absurdly delicious little white doughnuts, not sodium this or artificial that; and b) if aspartame was going to do anyone in, I'd have assumed room temperature a long time ago. I'm walking, talking validation that having aspartame on the GRAS list is the right thing to do.

However, some people do fuss about additives, and here we have a reformulated product with not one, but three artificial sweeteners in it. Our dear departed Diet Dew has always sported a label full of test-tube-sounding stuff and a color that occurs nowhere in nature. Nevertheless, it's still made it into many people's daily lives, and in large quantities. But who's to say that sucralose and/or acesulfame potassium won't be the last straw for some consumers? "Oh, too much weirdness for me. No more of that stuff." It's not like these folks will fight through their hesitation just 'cause it's so goshdarn yummy now, is it?

The even scarier angle for PepsiCo is that they might inadvertently rehabilitate a large number of caffeine addicts. I've moaned long and loud about the subpar choices available now that Diet Mountain Dew is gone. It's not that what I've been drinking (Diet Dr Pepper and Diet Coke, mostly) is particularly bad, it's that neither of them has staying power. I don't want to drink either one all day long. The situation has me considering whether it might be a good idea for me to cut my caffeine intake permanently.

With real Diet Mountain Dew gone, it's not difficult for me to envision a near future in which I would consume a cup of coffee and a caffeinated soft drink per day. That would represent a substantial decline of caffeine consumption—perhaps 80-90%.

I rather doubt that means I wouldn't be a customer anymore for real Diet Dew. The day that PepsiCo realizes its error and restores the original formula will be a happy day, and I will toast it with vigor. But they've (rather jarringly) interrupted my rhythm, and I can't guarantee that my consumption will rebound after this heinous act is reversed. I'd wager that's true for a substantial number of "somebody else"s as well.

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