On July 14, 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization based in Lyon, France, classified aspartame, the artificial sweetener used in Diet Coke and thousands of other processed food products, as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" (Group 2B), while a separate WHO committee maintained existing acceptable daily intake levels. The dual announcement, which simultaneously raised cancer concerns and declined to change consumption guidelines, generated widespread public confusion and media attention about the safety of artificial sweeteners that are ubiquitous in diet junk food products. The aspartame classification highlighted the ongoing scientific uncertainty surrounding the artificial ingredients that the junk food industry has relied upon for decades to maintain the appeal of its products while responding to health concerns.

The aspartame reclassification prompted a wave of contemporary poetry about the anxiety of consuming artificial substances whose long-term effects remain uncertain, a theme that resonates with ecopoetry's concern about invisible chemical contaminants in daily life. Poets writing about diet culture and body image found in the aspartame controversy a perfect metaphor for the impossible position of the contemporary eater, who is told both that sugar will harm them and that the artificial alternative might also be dangerous, a paradox that mirrors the contradictions poets have long explored in their work about desire, knowledge, and the body.