Freedom Fries, Liberty Cabbage, and Other Product Renamings

Political battles can dictate what we call our food and friends, and even what games we play. During WWI, sauerkraut was popularly rebranded Liberty Cabbage. When anti-French sentiments began to build a few years ago, "French Fries" were rechristened "Freedom Fries." (Nevermind that Thomas Jefferson may have been the one to first rave about the delicious side item in the U.S.). And while most patriotic terms fade, places like Berlin, Iowa, and Germantown, Nebraska, have ended up permanently renamed. Here are a few other examples of reactionary vocab rebranding efforts from all over the globe.

1. THE KIWI

The iconic fruit of New Zealand was originally known as a Chinese Gooseberry. When the country exported the fruits to the US starting in the 1950s, marketers referred to them as a melonettes to avoid evoking the Cold War conflict between China and the US. The name was later changed again to Kiwifruit came to avoid tariffs on melons and berries and to honor the country's national bird, the Kiwi.

2. KIWI LOAVES

In 1998, New Zealand bakers were irritated by threats of French nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean. So they took matters into their own hands by renaming French bread as Kiwi bread. The action received little attention compared to the Freedom fry movement here in the states.

3. FRENCH VANILLA

Of course, now that the Star Spangled Ice Cream company has renamed its ice cream from "I Hate the French Vanilla" to "Air Force "˜Plane' Vanilla," the recent anti-French sentiments may have left US kitchens, for now.

4. ROSES OF MUHAMMAD

After the 2006 controversy over Danish cartoons depicting Muslims, the Iranian Confectioner's Union changed the names of Danish pastries to "Roses of the Prophet Muhammad."

5. BOURBON

To wash down the sweet taste of independence, Americans began drinking Bourbon—a Whisky first brewed in the US in 1789. Rev. Elijah Craig rebuked the UK origins of the drink, naming it after Bourbon County, Kentucky.

6. MECCA COLA

In 2002, Muslims asserted their beverage independence too. A Muslim-run company introduced Mecca Cola as an alternative to Coca Cola. The manufacturers imitated the Coca Cola flavor and packaged it with a red label and white script. Arab boycotts of American brands boosted the cola's sales.