Re: {FoodLoveChicago} Digest for foodlovechicago@googlegroups.com - 1 Message in 1 Topic

[Jose Arrom]

Debbie:

This bill has implications for community health workers (CHWs) and public health educators. 

While it is meant to protect people from certain practitioners, it is very vague. It should focus on unqualified and untrained individuals who charge fees for services or bill insurance companies. There are some charlatans in the Latino community providing misinformation and recommendations (not based on evidence).  But, on the hand, there are a lot of licensed practitioners who are providing vague, dated, culturally inappropriate, and incomplete information and recommendation or fail to provide behavioral change support. Most health professionals, including dietitians, are under- or untrained in communication and behavioral change methods or educational methods (popular education). 

Jose Arrom

Jose O. Arrom, MA

Practicing Anthropologist
773-209-1817

Chicago, Illinois

On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 4:01 AM, <foodlov...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

  Today's Topic Summary

Group: http://groups.google.com/group/foodlovechicago/topics

• Illinois Legislative Alert: Making outlaws of many nutrition educators? (Dietetic & Nutrition Services Practice Act. [1 Update]

 Illinois Legislative Alert: Making outlaws of many nutrition educators? (Dietetic & Nutrition Services Practice Act.

Debbie Hillman <DLHi...@sbcglobal.net> Nov 15 04:06PM -0600  

To:
Advocates for Urban Agriculture (Greater Chicago)
Food Love Chicago (food lovers in general -- includes bodyworkers &
alternative health practitioners)
Illinois Local Food and Farms Coalition (Illinois)
Good Greens Midwest (6 states served by USDA FNS Midwest Office: IL,
IN, OH, MI, MN, WI, based in Chicago)
Evanston Healthy Community Task Force (PTA Councils)
and other Illinois residents
 
 
To my Illinois "local food and farm" colleagues:
 
An Illinois bill has been brought to my attention that, if renewed,
will have ramifications through the year 2023 and which, I believe,
may be
-- against the spirit of Illinois' local food initiatives
-- against the spirit of food democracy, food sovereignty, self-
sufficiency, and self-responsibility (core principles of "local food
system" work)
-- against the spirit of scientific investigation and evolution of
human knowledge
-- in violation of our U.S. Constitutional right to free speech
 
 
ISSUE. The primary issue, as I understand it, is who will be allowed
to share nutritional, health, and food information with Illinois
residents. The proposed bill would severely limit the people who can
share such information with consumers.
 
Below is an email and announcement about the bill and the issues at
hand, crafted by an organization called Illinois Citizens for Health
Freedom. They are working with a national organization, National
Health Freedom Coalition (based ini Minnesota). This issue has been
coming up in a number of states, including Wisconsin, Ohio, and North
Carolina.
 
I personally would hope that we can have some extended collegial
discussions, with or without the sponsors of the legislation, before
this bill is brought to a vote.
 
Currently there are only three Senate sponsors (no House sponsors):
Chief sponsor: Sen. Iris Martinez (Chicago)
Sen. Dale Righter (Mattoon)
Sen. Michael Noland (Elgin)
 
 
CONFERENCE CALL. On Monday evening (Nov. 19), ICHF and NHFC are
hosting an Illinois conference call to discuss this bill. I've been
told that there is room for 150 people on this call.
 
Date: Monday, November 19, 2012
Time: 7:00 pm (CST)
Dial In Number: 1-218-936-4700
Access Code: 5129065
 
I urge Illinois nutrition educators of all kinds -- registered
dietitians, medical doctors, nurses, chiropractors, herbalists, chefs,
mothers, farmers, community health workers, Masters in Nutrition,
naturopaths, other alternative health practitioners, bodyworkers,
homeopaths, teachers, self-studiers, health coaches, sports teams
coaches, indigenous healers, etc., etc. -- to join the call and/or
contact the organizers for more information (Dan Podraza in Illinois,
Diane Miller from the national organization).
 
 
Three minor pieces of information (and an open question):
1. ADA's name. The organization cited below, ADA (American Dietetics
Association), recently changed its name. It is now called the Academy
of Nutrition and Dietetics.
2. HEN DPG e-list. For a number of years, there has been a group of
ADA members who have been discussing health and nutrition as it
relates to environment and increasing hunger in the U.S. This group
has an ADA-sponsored e-list called Hunger and Environmental Nutrition,
a dietetic practice group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. http://www.hendpg.org/
The mission is: Empowering members to be leaders in sustainable
and accesible food & water systems. Many of the dietitians active in
"local food" circles are also members of this practice group.
Question: I am wondering if there has been any discussion on this
national issue over the HEN DPG e-list.
3. Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship. The Institute
for Justice is involved in a North Carolina case, defending a
blogger's right to share nutrition information. This is the same
organization that has a Chicago law clinic, Institute for Justice
Clinic on Entrepreneurship (at University of Chicago's law school).
I do not know if Chicago's IJCE has been brought in on this
conversation.
 
 
Please share with anyone who is concerned about this issue and this
bill.
 
-- Debbie
 
Debbie Hillman
Evanston, Illinois
D. Hillman Strategies: Food Policy for Voters
847/328-7175
DLHi...@sbcglobal.net
FoodVote.2012.com (http://DHillmanStrategies.com)
 
 
 
 
From Illinois Citizens for Health Freedom:
 
As you know, the S.B. 2936, sponsored by Chicago's 20th District
Senator Iris Y. Martinez, seeks to extend the Illinois monopolistic
Dietitian and Nutrition services law until 2023 and increase the
penalties for unlicensed practice to $10,000 for each offense. The
definition of Dietetics and Nutrition services is so broad that it
makes illegal anyone who practices within the nutrition field that
does not have a license including nurses, naturopaths, nutritional
consultants, certified clinical nutritionists, herbalists, etc. To
read H.B. 2936, Click HERE.
 
Senator Martinez wants to pass the bill through to veto session
starting November 27. It's important that IL consumers and
practitioners make their voices heard before that date. This very much
has to do with food and health freedom - as it severely limits the
options available to IL consumers of where they receive nutritional
advice/information.
 
Background
The dietitians Act was put into IL law without much acknowledgement 10
years ago. It made it illegal for anyone to talk about nutrition
without being licensed or in a scope of practice. This Act sunsets
January 1, 2013. The current proposed bill as written would increase
the limitations and penalties for anyone who is not a Registered
Dietician - this would make it illegal for anyone other than a
Registered Dietician to give a consumer/patient any kind of
nutritional advice whatsoever.
Below are some great resources to gain a better understanding of the
issue and what is at stake:
The July Forbes article Is The ADA Intentionally Using State
Legislatures To Block Alternative Nutrition Providers? outlines the
issue on a national level and ADA's involvement and lobbying power.
Here is an audio of an interview with Diane Miller, JD, the attorney
helping us in IL with trying to amend the bill. This interview is
super helpful in understanding what's going on, what this bill means
and the implications of it, not only in IL but nationally as well.
Well worth listening to it in its entirety. According to Diane,
"Illinois has one of the worst laws in the country right now and they
want to make it worse...
Here's another great interview, with Pam Popper who has been harassed
for many years by the ADA, where she discusses her battle with Ohio
Dietitians and discusses other cases of senseless persecution from
dietitians. What I like about this interview is that there's also
discussion about the problem with apathy among constituents within
communities who just don't care about politics or simple ignorance of
legislative matters that affect us and our communities directly. They
discuss the situation in IL and the need for consumer opposition/
discussion and making their message heard.
About Pam Popper. Pam Popper is a naturopath, an internationally
recognized expert on nutrition, medicine and health, and the Executive
Director of The Wellness Forum. She has been featured in many widely
distributed documentaries, including Processed People and Making a
Killing and appears in a new film, Forks Over Knives, which opened in
major theaters in May 2011. She is one of the co-authors of the
companion book which is on the New York Times bestseller list.
There are now 2 amendments proposed - the Certified Clinical
Nutritionists (CCNs) have an amendment that exempt only CCNs, but no
one else. Diane Miller, JD along with Illinois Citizens for Health
Freedom (IC4HF) have proposed a more inclusive amendment called the
Health Freedom of Speech Amendment that protects citizens who are not
registered dieticians.
The Illinois Citizens for Health Freedom (IC4HF) was formed in
opposition of this bill and have joined forces with Diane Miller, JD
in an effort to amend S.B.2936 as written.
Diane Miller will be leading a public call on the issue Monday
November 19, 7pm.
Action Steps
IC4HF and Diane Miller, JD recommend the following actions before Nov.
27:
Join the public conference call Monday Nov 19, 7pm to learn more about
the bill, the proposed Health Freedom of Speech Amendment and further
action steps
Contact your local state representative and state senator with the
following message : “I oppose S.B. 2936 as written – it
unconstitutionally limits our freedom of speech on nutrition
information and decreases and jeopardizes consumer options in natural
health care. Please add the Health Freedom of Speech Amendment to this
bill to protect unlicensed citizens.” To determine who your personal
Senate and Assembly Representatives are, please click here.
Public Call: Amending S.B.2936 - Monday Nov 19, 7pm
Below are the public call details regarding SB2936 and Illinois'
grassroots effort in amending the bill. Please join us on the call for
Illinois Health Freedom. For more information, contact IC4HF's Dan
Podraza, 847-891-6762.
 
 
 

Dear Illinois resident interested in Health Freedom:
 
Greetings and thank you for your interest in health freedom.
 
You are invited to a conference call with Illinois Citizens for Health
Freedom, a project of NHFA:
 
1) To introduce you to members of this new and important health
freedom group, Illinois Citizens for Health Freedom, and hear whether
you have an interest in being part of the new group;
 
2) To update you on efforts to amend IL SB 2936, the restrictive and
monopolistic Dietitian Nutritionist Licensing bill, so that it will
include a freedom of speech health freedom amendment to protect access
to many unlicensed complementary and alternative health care
practitioners; and
 
3) To update you on ICHF’s work on preparing to introduce a broader
health freedom bill that would exempt unlicensed practitioners from
occupational licensing under a safe harbor law, and protect consumer
access to these many holistic practitioners.
 
* Please join us for a conference call for Illinois health freedom:
 
Date: Monday, November 19, 2012
Time: 7:00 pm (CST)
Dial In Number: 1-218-936-4700
Access Code: 5129065
 
If you have questions about this email, or would prefer not to receive
any future emails like this, please let us know.
 
Sincerely,
 
Diane Miller, J.D. Director of Law and Public Policy
 
and
 
Anne Tenner, J.D. Staff Attorney
 
National Health Freedom Coalition /Action
 
www.nationalhealthfreedom.org
 
Become a member of NHFA
and help us work to ensure health freedom!
 
To become a member of NHFA, click here.
 
National Health Freedom ACTION
 
Become a member of NHFA or make your contribution now!
 
NHFA is a non-profit 501(c) 4 advocacy and lobbying organization.
 
Contact Us
Call (507) 663 9018
Fax (507) 663 9013
E-mail in...@nationalhealthfreedom.org
 
Write:
NHFA
PMB 218
2136 Ford Pkwy.
St. Paul, MN 55116-1863
 
It is not our intention to send unsolicited e-mail or spam of any
kind. Please accept our apologies if you have received this e-mail
without subscribing to our list. If you do not wish to receive further
email communications from National Health Freedom Action, please click
here then press SEND.


 

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