For many years, a number Registered Dietitians have felt frustrated with – and misrepresented by – the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ (AND) partnerships with Big Food mammoths like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Hershey’s. Despite expressing this disappointment to their professional organization, these concerns did not appear to be taken seriously, nor have there appeared to be any attempts from AND to reevaluate who it obtained funding from. While some dietitians within the organization are tackling this issue, RDs still felt a need for a vocal coalition to publicly speak out on this issue. Dietitians for Professional Integrity was formed with the hopes of becoming one more part of the solution towards more appropriate corporate partnerships from the country’s leading nutrition organization.

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Since the release of public health lawyer Michele Simon’s report on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ corporate partnerships last month, the Registered Dietitian community has had much to talk about. A recent Twitter chat about this topic had such high turnout that “#RDChat” made it to Twitter’s Trending Topics, demonstrating that dialogue on this issue has been long overdue.

And, now, a new development: a coalition known as Dietitians for Professional Integrity launched its Facebook page last Wednesday, obtaining 485 “likes” in its first 12 hours. The group – co-founded by myself and 15 dietitian colleagues – is made up of Registered Dietitians, Dietetic Technicians, and dietetic students (as well as their supporters) and advocates for greater financial transparency as well as ethical, socially responsible, and relevant corporate sponsorships within the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND).

Apart from serving as a central hub for like-minded individuals to voice their displeasure with AND’s current corporate sponsorship model, a “statement of concern” from a dietetics professional or student is shared on the page every weekday. The hope is that these statements will further stimulate discussion, better connect colleagues, and demonstrate that current AND President Ethan Bergman was misguided and ill-informed when he recently stated that every AND member supports the Academy’s current food industry partnerships.

Many of the dietetic professionals who joined the group expressed how important it is to have forum where they can express the frustrations they have felt for so long (frustrations that were expressed to the Academy and often did not receive a response) and not just be heard, but also work towards better sponsorships that do not discredit the credential they worked for.

In response to criticism that speaking out against their professional organization is disloyal, the Dietitians for Professional Integrity group states the following in their Frequently Asked Questions document:

“We do not believe it is disloyal to demand that our professional organization behave in a more responsible fashion. We value our credential and want it to be represented in an honorable way.

We believe change can only come from speaking out and voicing concerns. All social movements that led to positive change started with a group of people who expressed their dissatisfaction with the status quo and mobilized others. Remaining silent under the guise of loyalty does not address issues, help foster dialogue, or provide room for problem-solving.

As a point of reference: the American Medical Association did not publicly cut ties with Big Tobacco until 1978, despite decades of research showing the harmful effects of smoking. Some doctors began raising concerns about their professional organization’s financial ties to tobacco companies as early as 1964. It was precisely this leadership and advocacy, combined with scientific evidence and public pressure, that brought about change. Imagine if no doctors ever dared to challenge their own professional organization and instead simply felt comforted by their professional organization’s stance.”