Why the name “Diet Milk?”

The term diet milk evokes a more visceral critique than the clinical descriptors like skim milk or low-fat milk. While these FDA-approved terms aim to inform consumers about the product's nutritional content, diet milk suggests a deeper philosophical and societal commentary.

In a regulatory sense, "milk" must retain its essential characteristics to be labeled as such. Once stripped of its defining qualities—its richness, fat content—it must be rebranded to reflect what’s missing. This mirrors the societal phenomena critiqued in the Diet Milk Theory: the process of hollowing out institutions, relationships, and cultural artifacts until they’re unrecognizable facsimiles of their former selves. They still carry the name, but their essence is gone.

Choosing diet milk over skim milk as a metaphor underscores the artificiality of the transformation. Skim milk is framed as a health-conscious choice, but diet milk feels performative, signaling a deliberate effort to appease societal pressures for optimization and control. It highlights how the pursuit of "improvement" often sacrifices substance, leaving behind a product—or a society—that may look the part but lacks the nourishment of its original form.

Thus, diet milk becomes a potent symbol: it’s not just about what’s missing but about the systemic forces that demand and normalize such dilution, echoing the broader critique of modern life under neoliberal and neoconservative pressures.