What Is the American Dietetic Association Attempting?

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This is definitely a two-edged swordand I have to wonder at the basis for the name change. The AmericanDietetic Association (ADA) changed its name to the Academy ofNutrition and Dietetics (AND) in January 2012. Does this mean thatthey now have an organization for teaching nutrition and dietetics? Or, is this now an organization through which they will enforce theirmafia-style tactics on their members to keep them in line andpreaching their mantras. I suspect all of this and more afterreading this article in forbes dot com.
The article is several pages and pointsout a frightening array of changes ahead as they attempt to gaincontrol of the field of nutrition. They are doing this throughcredentialing and state licensure. In the process, people that havedegrees in nutrition and are practicing their profession will nolonger be allowed to under efforts being supported and lobbied for bythe AND. Until they become credentialed under the Commission onDietetic Registration, they will be forced to stop what they areteaching. Under the laws supported in some states, if they do notstop, they may face jail time and severe financial penalties.
I even have to wonder if they will goafter instructors teaching nutrition in our colleges anduniversities. This remains to be determined, but under the laws of afew states, this may be possible. We do not need nonsense like thiscrowding our over worked court system.
What the AND has done in effect is toprevent the nutritionists from forming their own group andcredentialing organization. They are in effect legally taking overby bringing this group of people under their control, andcredentialing. If you doubt this, why else would this organizationapply to the US Patent and Trademark Office for a series ofcertification marks, a type of trademark related to credentialing,for a comprehensive array of nutrition-related professional titles,including:

• Certified Nutrition Associate
• Certified Nutrition Coach
• Certified Nutrition Educator
• Certified Nutrition Manager
• Certified Nutrition Professional
• Registered Nutrition Associate
• Registered Nutrition Coach
• Registered Nutrition Educator
• Registered Nutrition Manager
• Registered Nutrition Professional

The certification mark applications, inconjunction with the name change, suggest that the AND is attemptingto expand its scope and influence, from its decades-old role as theindustry group for Registered Dietitians, to now encompass the entirefield and professional practice of nutrition.
To quote from the article “Thedocument specifically bemoans that the word “dietitian” (thetrade group’s decades-old area of coverage and specialty) isregulated far more heavily than the word “nutritionist”:Simply put, governments more strictly regulate the work of andqualifications for dietitians than it does for nutritionists, andcompetitors are explicit about their intention to exploit thisdietetics/nutrition distinction. An array of competitors is alreadyproviding would-be clients with personalized health education andnutritional counseling in growth areas such as prevention andwellness and in private practice careers. The required and necessaryskill set of RDs competing with these other nutrition professionalsmay not necessarily be the same that clinical dietitians [sic], butRDs cannot cede this expanding market to others who clearly intendto provide nutrition services. [Emphasis added]”The document does list in detail thecompetitive threat posed by many different types of non-RDpractitioners who give nutrition advice and includes the threats fromnurses, pharmacists, personal trainers, chiropractors, andnaturopaths and homeopaths.
As the author of the article was socareful to document, “the devil is in the details.” In severalstates the then ADA was able to force several qualified nutritionistsout of business because the law was not specific enough for theirprofession in allowing for them to dispense nutritional advice aspart of their practice and thus ADA succeeded in forcing them out.
It will be a sad day for nutrition ifthis is allowed to run its course and obesity will become even moreof a problem. Plus we will be forced to live closer to USDAguidelines. If the AND makes further intrusions into the healthcaresystem, we may be forced to pay fines for not eating by theirguidelines.
Carefully read what the full articlesays and especially take time to read this PDF from the files of thethen ADA, now AND.