The advantage to present day communication methods is that you can advocate for nutrition to....the President of the United States--without getting nervous or stumbling over your words.
ADA’s 2011 Nutrition Informatics Survey results indicated that over 50 percent of members considered themselves a “beginner” or “intermediate” user of social media technologies. Sixteen percent considered themselves an expert in social media. The relevance may become more critical to nutrition advocacy as we begin to appreciate the value of real time, large scale outreach when timely feedback is necessary.
On December 8, 2011, the ADA Policy Initiatives and Advocacy Office launched a petition on the White House website urging CMS to reconsider its decision (CAG-00423N) excluding Registered Dietitians from direct billing for Obesity Therapy. The petition goal of 25,000 (by January 7, 2012) quickly jumped after dietitians posted on Facebook, Twitter, personal websites, electronic mailing lists and other communication mechanisms. A week later, the count is over 17,000 signatures. If you haven’t signed it—be sure to add your name!
Along the same easy path is advocating to your congress men and women with the same sort of ease. Login to the eatright.org website, choose Public Policy and go to the "Grassroots Manager". You will see recent “Action Alerts”. Begin by selecting the “Take Action” button and the system will walk you through how to send communication seamlessly to your specific representatives who can make a difference in nutrition!