Florida
January 31, 2005
Honorable John Ellis “Jeb” Bush
The Capitol 409 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-991
RE: Defense of Ms. Anida Bruce
Dear Governor Bush:
This correspondence is concerning Ms. Anida Bruce who was arrested in the State of Florida on November 25, 2003 for practicing naturopathic medicine and nutritional counseling without a license. I have considered it necessary to write to you because of my deep concern with these arrests that are in violation of federal regulations. The practice of a Dietitian/Nutritionist within the field of allopathic medicine is regulated in the State of Florida, but the practice of nutrition within the field of traditional naturopathic medicine is unregulated by the state; therefore, the state lacks jurisdiction over this profession. According to U. S. regulations, licensure regulates a profession. If the state believes a profession is putting its citizens and visitors at risk, their only option according to federal regulations is to regulate the profession by licensure.
In general, a state can rightfully make laws to regulate a profession by licensure since licensure does not restrict total access to a profession; this is due to the fact that anyone can practice the profession by meeting the qualifications. Furthermore, an individual can legitimately be arrested, fined or imprisoned for practicing a licensed profession without obtaining a license. Conversely, the state cannot in good faith make crime laws to keep individuals from working in unregulated professions because it restricts total access to a profession. State laws that restrict total access to a profession violate its citizens’ rights under the thirteenth amendment to the constitution.
The state not being the competent authority to designate titles has usurped the title of the nutritionists by giving the dietitians the title Dietitian/Nutritionist. There is a material difference between the scope of practice of a dietitian, which deals with the consumption of foods and the scope of practice of a nutritionist, which deals primarily with the assimilation of foods. The curriculum of dietitians is based on the philosophy of dietetics as it relates to allopathic medicine; their philosophy concerning diet is based on the food pyramid concept or daily consumption of all the food groups. A dietitian is an expert in dietetics.[1] Dietetics is the application of diet in the treatment of disease.2 Dietetics deals, exclusively, with disorders based on inappropriate consumption of foods. The American Dietetics Association (ADA) is the registering agency for dietitians. Dietitians receive the descriptive title registered after sitting for the examinations of the Commission on Dietetics Registration. This descriptive title is then added to their title Dietitian; therefore, forming the designation Registered Dietitian (RD).
The curriculum of nutritionists is based on the philosophy of nutrition as it relates to traditional naturopathic medicine; their philosophy concerning diet is based on consumption of natural organic whole-foods. A nutritionist is one who is an expert in the field of nutrition.3 Nutrition is the process by which a living organism assimilates food.4 The practice of nutrition incorporates the use of herbs, enzymes and probiotics to influence conditions caused by improper assimilation of foods. Unlike the practice of dietitians, which is limited to the use of foods, the practice of nutritionists extends to the use of natural agents essential to influence assimilation. Unequivocally, this differentiates the scope of practice of dietitians from the scope of practice of nutritionists. The state must recognize that no one practicing under the banner of the American Dietetics Association, according to their philosophy, is a nutritionist while they are not able to influence the process of assimilation because nutrition is the process by which living organisms assimilate foods.
The State of Florida does not regulate nutritionists practicing nutrition based on the philosophy of traditional naturopathy. When the state chooses not to regulate a profession, there is no regulatory agency an individual can refer to in order to have their qualifications evaluated; therefore, the U.S. Department of Education says that the hiring employer must be the one to evaluate the qualifications of such individuals. The state has usurped the authority of the hiring employer by attempting to regulate this profession by coercion instead of by licensure. This compels traditional naturopaths to involuntarily work in other professions, which is a violation of their rights under the thirteenth amendment to the constitution.
Ms. Anida Bruce could have been arrested legally for practicing without a license only if the state offered a license to practice her profession. The state must first offer a license to practice a profession before it could be illegal to practice the profession without a license. Ms. Anida Bruce must, therefore, be exonerated of all charges since the state arrested her for practicing her profession when there was no license made available to her. The State of Florida has discriminated against Ms. Anida Bruce based on professional distinction and is in violation of her rights under the thirteenth amendment to the constitution.
Sincerely,
Beverly Betancur, N.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Cc: Attorney Generals and State Licensing Boards
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1 Dietitian - Stedman’s Medical Dictionary 27th edition, 2000, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
2 Dietetics - Stedman’s Medical Dictionary 27th edition, 2000, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
3 Nutritionist - The American Heritage Dictionary 4th edition, 2004, Houghton Mifflin Company
4 Nutrition - The American Heritage Dictionary 4th edition, 2004, Houghton Mifflin Company
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