North Carolina board violated US Constitution in threatening nutrition blogger

Monday, April 30, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: North Carolina, blogger, free speech

(NaturalNews) The power-tripping medical establishment in North Carolina has threatened to sue the owner of an online diabetes blog based in the Tar Heel State if he refuses to capitulate to their tyrannous, unconstitutional demands. The North Carolina Board of Dietetics / Nutrition (NCBDN) says Steve Cooksey is violating state law by freely sharing dietary and nutrition information on his blog, simply because he is not a licensed dietitian.

According to the Carolina Journal, Cooksey landed himself in the crosshairs of NCBDN after making waves at a recent nutrition seminar in Charlotte. Because Cooksey shared information that ran contrary to what another speaker at the same event, who happened to be the director of diabetes services at a local hospital, shared, Cooksey quickly found himself embroiled in a bureaucratic power struggle that is now seeking to maintain a total health monopoly in North Carolina by destroying him.

Instead of confirming the lies and misinformation of the state-sanctioned nutrition guidelines for diabetes, which frown on things like saturated fats and encourage consumption of grain-based carbohydrates, Cooksey spoke up about the importance of consuming saturated fats as part of a healthy diet, and warned about how eating too many carbohydrates is detrimental to health. He also passed out business cards to event attendees that directed them to his blog.

A mere three days later, Cooksey was reportedly contacted by Charla Mae Burill, Director of NCBDN (http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/27560-nc-charla-burill-1918146.html), and told that he "could not give out nutritional advice without a license," according to the Carolina Journal. Burill also threatened to file an injunction against Cooksey unless he completely revamps his site, or takes it offline.

You can view Cooksey's blog here:
http://www.diabetes-warrior.net/

NCBDN threats against Cooksey violate the U.S. Constitution

In its defense, NCBDN says Cooksey is specifically violating state law by "counseling" readers about nutrition, rather than just providing general information about diet plans. But any rational, unbiased assessment of the situation, and of Cooksey's blog specifically, will reveal that NCBDN's accusations are petty at best -- and in all truth, they are completely unwarranted and ridiculous.

NCBDN's accusations are also unconstitutional, as Cooksey has every legal right under the U.S. Constitution to share health information online, and even to assist his readers in curing their own diseases by sharing how certain dietary protocols have helped him. So no matter how NCBDN tries to spin the issue, Cooksey has complete, sovereign authority over his own person to share his health experiences online without having to deal with duress from government bureaucrats.

"The First Amendment says state and federal governments 'shall make no law' abridging freedom of speech," says Declan McCullagh, a CBS News correspondent and expert in free speech issues, who believes the case is nonsense. "It doesn't say 'except for what annoys the North Carolina Board of Dietetics and Nutrition.'"

"If that language appeared in a book or a magazine article, do you think the board would complain? How about if someone said that to a friend over dinner at a restaurant? Of course not. But because it's on the Web, they seem to think that the First Amendment no longer applies."

NCBDN concerned with maintaining its own health monopoly, not with improving public health

If NCBDN was really concerned about improving the health and eating habits of North Carolinians, it would not be wasting precious time and resources pursuing a man whose experience and expertise in the matter has actually been proven to reverse and cure disease. But it is precisely because Cooksey's expertise is effective and runs contrary to NCBDN's outmoded dietary doctrine that the organization is seeking to squelch him.

It is a classic case of a centralized power institution seeking to maintain complete control over an entire industry, which in this case is health and nutrition. Any information or advice that runs contrary to its own antiquated dogma, which includes Cooksey's blog, cannot be tolerated if the institution is to survive.

But the free people of the United States, and specifically of North Carolina, cannot tolerate NCBDN's extreme abuse of its own perceived authority, either, which it technically and legally does not even possess in the first place. And it is time to put this board in its place by demanding that it leave Cooksey, and all other sovereign individuals, alone.

Regardless of whether or not you live in North Carolina, you can contact NCBDN to express your thoughts, and to urge the group to back off, by writing, calling, faxing or emailing:


North Carolina Board of Dietetics / Nutrition
1000 Centre Green Way
Suite 200
Cary, NC 27513

Phone: (919) 228-6391
Toll Free: (800) 849-2936
Fax: (919) 882-1776

Email: [email protected]

Sources for this article include:

http://www.carolinajournal.com