The Change Mariner

High-Carb Foods In A Low-Carb Nation

New York Times:

While only about 3.5 percent of Americans, or about 10 million people, are following a low-carb diet, about four times that many people have tried such diets within the last year, according to the NPD Group, a market research company in Port Washington, N.Y. The food industry acknowledges that the trend has exhibited significant staying power. But good news for companies that market foods with relatively low carbohydrate content is a call to action for industries that grow or market foods that are irreversibly high in carbohydrates.

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After discovering last month that concerns about carbohydrates had cut orange juice consumption by 5 percent over the last two years, the Florida Department of Citrus decided to introduce a $1.8 million advertising and marketing campaign to promote the benefits of oranges. The agency plans to position orange juice as a "smart" carbohydrate, playing up the health benefits associated with oranges.

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In April, when the United States Potato Board, a trade group, saw the latest figures on annual potato consumption - down 4.7 percent from the year before - the group's leaders left their potato farms and flew to Denver for an emergency meeting. A survey by the board found that consumers thought potatoes had no nutritional value. One survey question asked consumers to indicate which foods they thought were rich in vitamin C. Only 6 percent of the respondents chose potatoes, although a medium-size one has about 45 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.