A company whose signature product is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic is involved in the credentialing of the professionals who are tasked with educating us about the epidemic.
Coca-Cola isn’t the only corporate giant influencing the conversation on healthful eating habits. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the country’s largest trade association for nutrition professionals, has for years been accepting sponsorships from what many describe as “Big Junk Food”: PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE:PEP), Hershey Co. (NYSE:HSY), General Mills Inc. (NYSE:GIS) and Kellogg Co. (NYSE:K) are just some of the companies listed as partners or sponsors in its 2012 annual report. Sponsorships — offered at various levels — help support the Academy’s various events and activities, with top-level sponsors (“partners”) given the opportunity to present educational sessions to Academy members.
Despite its proletariat-sounding name, the Academy is more than a simple trade group. It’s involved, either directly or indirectly, in almost every stage of becoming and remaining a registered dietitian. Both the accreditation council for dieticians’ educational programs and the agency that oversees RD credentialing operate under the Academy’s umbrella, though the organization says they operate independently of the Academy’s governing bodies.
Among the major food companies, it’s Coca-Cola that seems most interested in molding the minds of RDs. Its Beverage Institute features more than two-dozen free nutrition seminars, all accredited and officially sanctioned by the Academy’s Commission on Dietetic Registration.
Weaning the Academy off junk-food money may prove just as challenging as weaning Americans off junk food.
