Were you aware that here in New Jersey, dieticians are now seeking a monopoly about nutrition speech? A decade ago, Governor Christy Todd Whitman vetoed the Nutritionist’s certification bill and now they are seeking it again, wishing to forbid anyone but themselves from talking about nutrition.

If you are a New Jersey resident, the time to do something about this is now. Write your legislators and tell them that you do not want this bill to be passed as written and they must delete the newly added exclusionary portion of the Dietician’s Licensing Bill.

Here’s my letter, feel free to use it to send to our legislators:

Senator,

I am writing you today to let you know that I oppose NJ Senate Bill 1941 and Assembly Bill 2933.

Approval of this bill would interfere with our right to our freedom of speech, civil rights, our right of informed choice and it essentially will create a medical monopoly over all nutritional information.

We, as citizens of this state, are entitled to health information and different options, neither which should be excluded through the licensing of dieticians.

I believe in free information and being able to choose for myself. But, I do not believe that in a free country such as ours, health information and options should be excluded through the licensing of dieticians.

Please take action to see that the newly added exclusionary portion of the Dietician’s Licensing Bill is deleted.
This is the portion that excludes all other practitioners from remaining in their natural health businesses. To exclude a group in favor of another is an unconscionable and discriminatory act unbecoming to those governing in a free society.

This bill would censor information that is neither understood nor endorsed by the medical establishment. Information should be freely available in a free society. In addition to violating our right to free speech, this bill violates our basic right to make our own personal health decisions and favors the medical establishment in New Jersey. Dieticians have no training or interest in natural and holistic lternatives and wish to be known as “medical nutritionists”. To designate dieticians as nutritionists is both to redefine the common perception of a nutritionist, which is propagating a lie upon the public, and to destroy a vast and growing industry by creating a medical monopoly. These Bills deny the public access to holistic health information, thereby eliminating any possibility of a person to make an informed choice regarding their health and violating the American Medical Association’s dictate of 1999 which says, “Informed consent can be effectively exercised only if the patient possesses enough information to enable an intelligent choice.” Permitting only one side of a story does not lend itself to providing an informed consent. Without the dissemination of natural health information and if natural health dialogue is censored by the passage of this bill, the ancillary businesses that depend on natural health information will decline and eventually vanish. This may be the true intention of this bill. The pharmaceutical and medical industries appear to be using their vast resources and influence to get the legislators of New Jersey to eliminate those seen as competition. The bill proposes to designate registered dieticians as “nutritionists” a designation they did not have before and do not have the training for. It would also deem it illegal for any person who is not a medically trained dietician working inside the medical “box” to address or share information relating to food, diet, nutrition and health including doctors of nutrition and those nationally certified and conventionally trained as nutritionists.

Dieticians do have a right to be licensed if they so choose, so removing the clause from these Bills that criminalizes the people who have been practicing, learning and teaching holistic nutrition would be the logical solution for this dilemma. Allowing nutritional guidance and the dissemination of natural health information by those other than dieticians would give dieticians their license without infringing upon the freedoms of others.

Here are some additional links on this:
NJ Dieticians attack Health Freedom
Action Alert: Oppose Dieticians Monopoly Bill
Write the NJ Senators here
Form to send State Legislators a letter about this