Michael Ellsberg has an excellent article about the American Dietetic Association’s attempts to make it illegal for anyone they haven’t approved to give nutritional advice. In this document, they are frank that this is their goal. After Ellsberg drew attention to it, it was taken down. I look forward to learning why it was taken down.
The Washington State chapter of the ADA, now called the Washington State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is responsible for taking down the document. The organization has this mission statement:
Empowering the people of Washington to improve health with safe, effective and reliable food and nutrition information.
Our Vision: Optimize the health and well being of Washington State individuals through food & nutrition.
Our Mission: Empower members to be Washington State’s food and nutrition leaders.
Long ago, in the civil rights or suffrage movements, for example, empowerment meant removal of barriers. This organization preaches empowerment by creation of barriers. Their empowerment is someone else’s disempowerment.
“Make it illegal for anyone they haven’t approved to give nutritional advice” is inaccurate, misleading, and a gross oversimplification of the issue. And yes, I read both the Forbes piece and the PDF to which you linked.
Seth: What was inaccurate or misleading? It’s awfully easy to criticize if you don’t give examples.
Misleading/inaccurate: you make it sound like they want to be able to sue me for telling my friend that an easy way to cut out hundreds of calories a day is to skip the morning and afternoon mochas.
I see where you’re coming from on this issue, but your post is, as I said, a gross oversimplification.
Seth: Thank you for clarifying that. I thought it was clear that they want to eliminate competition and that free advice isn’t competition. Competition is other people charging money for nutritional advice.
The ADA isn’t going to like this, but they’re going to lose this fight because of technology. The Silicon Valley folks are busy building devices and software so that people can measure their own internal systems. And the Internet allows for consumers to send that information to a nutritional consultant based somewhere out there on the net, whether that consultant is based in the States or in Thailand. Technology is going to blow a hole through many a business plan based upon obtaining rent-seeking gatekeeper status.
In the meantime, libertarian-influenced lawyers might successfully fight the rent-seekers.
I followed there diet gained 39 pounds, had no improvement in blood or sugar went Paleo, no more, lost 40, pounds, blood normal,BP normal its a big con, my Dr said keep up with what I am doing,he had no answers? really