DON’T
TRUST THE EXPERTS
With nearly 67,000 members, the American
Dietetic Association (ADA) is the nation’s largest organization of food and
nutrition professionals. Founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1917 by a group of
women dedicated to helping the government conserve food and improve the
public’s health and nutrition during World War I, the organization’s mission is
“leading the future of dietetics.”
ADA
members serve the public as “the most valued source” of good advice about food
and nutrition, with a commitment “to helping people enjoy healthier lives.” Forty-six
states currently have laws concerning professional regulation of dietitians and
nutritionists, according to the ADA’s website. The group’s rationale for
protecting these titles is simple: the public deserves to know which
individuals are qualified by education, experience and examination to provide
nutrition care services.
The
history of these laws began in 1987, when the Ohio state legislature passed a
law, creating the Ohio Board of Dietetics, which prevented anyone from giving
advice on nutrition except members of the ADA. This law seems in line with
public interest by restricting unqualified people from giving nutritional
advice. However, the law was passed not to protect the public from poor nutrition
advice, but to protect its own dietitians from competition.
The
Board asserts that only dietitians have permission to use the term
“nutritionist” in their job title. Other professionals with master’s degrees or
Ph.D.s in nutrition, who are not members of the ADA, are not allowed to use
“nutrition” in their titles in Ohio. In addition, only dietitians are able to
give advice, provide education and develop policies on nutrition.
The
Board put the issue into the national agenda, pushing for state-by-state
legislation to exclude everyone other than certified dietitians from giving
nutritional advice. During a six-year period, beginning in 1996, the board went
after 795 people with lawsuits, but made a serious tactical error when it
turned its guns on Dr. Pamela Popper, a well-known nutritionist with two
Ph.D.s, who had designed an education program for an Ohio hospital, but was not
a member of the ADA.
The
Board came after Popper, threatening criminal prosecution. She not only fought
the Board and the ADA, but also vigorously campaigned to expose their
practices, such as putting qualified professionals out of business, using
heavy-handed investigation techniques, prohibiting the public to obtain
unbiased nutrition information and failure to show that anyone had been harmed
by nutrition advice given by someone who was not a member of the ADA.
Popper
made people aware that dietetics is only a small part of nutrition theory, and
publicized the fact that the ADA is heavily funded by the food industry,
receiving millions of dollars a year from agricultural organizations and
corporations that manufacture food and food additives.
The
ADA’s website contains a series of fact sheets about various food and health
concerns, sponsored by the same corporations that make them. Information on “Balancing Calories and
Optimizing Fat” is sponsored by Hellmans maker of the best-selling
mayonnaise in the country. Wendy’s sponsors another fact sheet called
“What’s a Mom to Do? Healthy Eating Tips for Families.”
The
story of the ADA is just part of the long history of commerce in America. Each
interest group tries to destroy the opposition in order to create a monopoly
for itself, thereby acquiring more power, status and profits. If we cannot trust
any of these groups, including many dietitians, to give us good advice about
health and nutrition, whom can we trust?
From: Integrative Nutrition
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