Masters of Health Magazine May 2024 | Page 72

When you need advice on nutrition and diet, do you want it to come only from nutrition professionals backed by Big Food? ACTION ALERT!

THE TOPLINE

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), the trade group for registered dietitians, is trying once again to establish state-level monopolies over the practice of nutrition.

This unfairly excludes other nutrition professionals that are often better qualified than registered dietitians.

This power-grab is especially concerning given the well-documented corporate ties linking junk food companies to the AND.

Food and diet are foundational to a healthy, vibrant lifestyle, but it can be difficult to break old habits and start better ones. That’s why many Americans turn to a professional to help them manage these changes—whether it’s to address a medical condition like diabetes or heart disease, to deal with food sensitivities, to improve energy levels, or just become more healthy generally. But what if your only choice was a group of professionals that are on the take from Big Food, Big Ag, and Big Pharma ?

A monopoly over the practice of nutrition has been the goal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) for years. The AND is the trade group for Registered Dietician Nutritionists (RDNs), and for years the AND tried to pass, in as many states as possible, laws stipulating that only RDNs could offer nutrition services.

Now there is a new strategy that is being pursued. Much like the Interstate Compact pursued by the Federation of State Medical Boards to extend their power over the practice of medicine, the AND is now working to get its own Dietitian Interstate Compact passed in as many states as possible.

The goal of the Dietitian Interstate Compact is to make it easier for RDNs to practice in multiple states without going through the process of getting licensed in each individual state. Rather, state legislatures can enact model legislation to enter the Compact; RDNs can then practice in any state that passes the Compact without getting licensed in that state. The Compact must be passed by seven states before it comes into effect.

So far, the Dietitian Compact has only been passed in Nebraska, but there are bills pending in almost a dozen other states.