I Went to the Nutritionists Annual Conference. It Was Catered by McDonalds. @eatright --> My response to this article: The Olympics is sponsored by McDonalds!! What did you really expect?? As a disclaimer, I didnt attend this event and Im not a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). In all seriousness, let me point out a few things - #BigPharma sponsors nearly all medical conferences. Nearly all organizations have a conflict of interest - thats the sad reality. Dietitians arent regularly employed at schools - period. If there is one, he/she covers the entire school district. If you foolishly believe dietitians have any pull when it comes to the school lunch program, youre crazy. We are treated like cafeteria workers at hospitals. We get no respect. So frustrating! We arent even a reimbursable health care service (meaning, your insurance wont pay for you to see a dietitian - not even if you are obese). There are two exceptions, type 2 diabetes and renal failure. This is largely thanks to lobbying by the American Medical Association (AMA). Which, has one of the largest lobbying budgets of all organizations - period. Those with the most money to spend lobbying #BigBrother creates the rules of the land - NOT corporate sponsored lunches. The Academy spent $88,000 on lobbying in 2013. The American Medical Association in 2013?? $18.5 MILLION !!! Give me a break. Dietitians are paid with peanuts - literally. New grads start out making maybe $45,000? Max out at like $60,000. Are there dietitians out there who dont stay up with current research or investigate issues like myself? Of course! Plenty.. Just like every other profession. My point is, articles like this - although true (McDonalds sponsored the AND) - really get under my skin bc they are so misleading. Yes, #BigFood is corrupt, but the AND is far from being influential when it comes to food laws in this country. Dont be a Sheeple. He with the money rules the land and dietitians do not have money. We are all poor. Haha. ;)) The conference sounds like it sucked; which, is why I dont participate, but pointing fingers at dietitians for the obesity epidemic is really ignorant and absurd. If you are that concerned about the obesity epidemic, try devoting your paid time - or free time!! - to investigating potential solutions or providing public nutrition, fitness, or health education. Not writing some juicy gossip column about dietitians getting a free lunch. The system is broken... We all know that. Bravo. 😡 Also: The dietitian mentioned in this article - Andy - has dedicated his entire life investigating the AND. Seriously?? Why? 👎 The AND spends $80,000/year on lobbying. Thats a joke. Meanwhile, he endorses his favorite big food companies. Pfft! Clearly his passion is improving public health. People are so weird. ReadMore: m.motherjones/environment/2014/05/my-trip-mcdonalds-sponsored-nutritionist-convention Lobbying Data Source: opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000023948&year=2013 opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000068
Posted on: Fri, 16 May 2014 23:30:19 +0000
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