• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Dietitians for Professional Integrity

  • Home
  • Our Team
  • Resources
    • Advocacy & Action Toolkit
    • Conflict-Free CEUs
    • Distinguished Dietitians
    • Ethical Sponsorship
    • FNCE Guides & Reports
    • Like-Minded Organizations
    • RD Resource Toolkit
    • Statements of Concern
    • Understand The Issues
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • Blog
  • Donate
  • Search

May 19, 2014 Leave a Comment

Statement of Concern From Emily Fonnesbeck, RD, CD

Today’s statement of concern comes from Emily Fonnesbeck, RD, CD (Twitter handle: @EmilyFonnesbeckRD):

“I’ve been a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) for about 12 years, and the past few years have left me conflicted about renewing my membership. In light of recent events outlined so well by Dietitians For Professional Integrity, I unfortunately don’t feel AND represents my own nutrition practices and beliefs. If I do not renew my membership, however, I would be unable to continue to be a member of the Dietetic Practice Groups I enjoy being a part of. I love to network, learn new ideas, and value the professional relationships I have built through these groups. For those reasons, I have chosen to renew my membership with AND for the coming year.

I have come to realize that we as RDs have much more in common than not; at our roots, we all want the same thing. Discontinuing my membership would prevent me from being part of the solution, as we are a more powerful voice together. I don’t think we should approach this topic from “who is wrong” and “who is right,” but rather think about what is the best way to educate the American public, which is already confused and frustrated with nutrition information. They need us, as nutrition professionals, to stand united, be transparent, and most of all, embody trustworthiness. I feel that the current corporate sponsorship model impedes that trust.

I have had numerous clients come to me with many questions when they see articles about our corporate sponsorship. Based on our work together, they are surprised and confused that I am a member of an organization whose perceived values (in their mind) differ from mine. There is a disconnect; they can sense it and it is impossible to justify.

Much of the conversation regarding sponsors revolves around finances, but I would say there is a bigger issue here than just money. However, I have never been involved in planning meetings or conferences and am sure a lot goes into that process that I am not aware of. I know there are two sides to every story. Having said that, I am more than willing to pay a higher annual due if it means ridding our organization of sponsors that negatively affect our credibility and reputation. And, I am also sure there are ways to reduce costs on conferences and meetings. For example, I wouldn’t mind going paperless (and already have on publications and notices), I don’t need a conference goodie bag, could do without a food expo and am able to volunteer time if needed. I attend these meetings for networking and solid, nutrition information.

I would just love to see more of this kind of “what are the possibilities” dialogue happening. I am looking forward to another great year with AND. I hope this coming year brings honest and open discussions about the future.”

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)

Related

Categories: Statements of Concern

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

sidebar

Blog Sidebar

Social Media

FacebookTwitter

Subscribe to receive our quarterly newsletter and other breaking news!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Browse by Topic

  • Academic Research
  • Advocacy
  • Distinguished Dietitians
  • Ethical Sponsorship
  • Industry Spin
  • Industry-Funded Research
  • Interviews
  • Photos
  • Problematic Sponsorship
  • Recommended Reads
  • Reports
  • Statements of Concern
  • Uncategorized

Tags

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics American Beverage Association Andy Bellatti Big Tobacco California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Center for Science in the Public Interest CEUs Civil Eats Coca-Cola ConAgra conflicts of interest Corn Refiners Association FNCE front groups General Mills Global Energy Balance Network Hershey's industry-funded research junk food Kellogg Kids Eat Right Kraft Kraft Singles lobbying Marion Nestle marketing marketing to children Mars McDonald's meat industry Michele Simon moderation National Dairy Council Nestlé New York Times PepsiCo policy soda soda tax soda taxes sugar The Sugar Association Unilever World Health Organization Yoni Freedhoff

Footer

Subscribe to receive our quarterly newsletter and other breaking news!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

Farewell to Our Supporters

Dear DFPI Supporters, Since February of 2013, we at Dietitians For Professional Integrity have been a voice for uplifting the registered dietitian credential at a time when corporate influences - both overt and covert Read More

Highly Processed Foods Can Negatively Impact Health

Good read from New York Times on how highly processed foods (and the ingredients in many of them) can negatively impact health by creating an imbalance in the gut microbiome. This is the future of nutrition. The fact Read More

Social Media

FacebookTwitter

RSS

  • RSS - Posts

© 2019 Dietitians for Professional Integrity