A while ago I tweeted a Forbes article which asked whether the Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics, formerly known as the American Dietetic Association, was seeking to eliminate competition by proposing dozens of state laws that would further codify who can give nutritional advice and provide stiff penalties for those who do so without the imprimatur of AND.

My preference would be to go the other way, since clearly, the dietary advice the nation is getting so far is wholly ineffective. I'd go further, to say that the advice of registered dietitians is often misguided. The last thing we ought to do is give more authority to the chumps who are failing us so far.

This morning, I learned that a regulatory review panel in Michigan has found "that current regulations regarding dietetic and nutrition licensing, which provision that only licensed professionals can give nutrition advice, does not serve the public interest and should be eliminated," according to an article at NaturalNews.com. I'm not sure that disbanding licensing standards altogether is a good plan — my nutritionist, who is also an RD, says it isn't, and, well, I rely on her expertise, but then again, she's not the standard RD by a longshot — but if I have to choose, I'd follow the Michigan panel.