American Society For Nutrition

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Federal Advocacy

Federal Advocacy

Excellence in Nutrition Research and Practice
The American Society for Nutrition advocates for its members by working with Congress and federal agencies on issues that impact the way nutrition scientists and clinicians conduct research or treat their patients. The Society's members and staff also collaborate with related public health, medical, and research organizations on common issues to build coalitions and advance issues of mutual interest. Each congressional cycle, ASN's Public Policy Committee identifies the legislative and/or regulatory issues most relevant to the membership and creates a focused agenda to reflect those needs.

Current Priority Areas:

Nutrition Research Funding

  • Advocate for funding for basic, clinical, applied and translational research, focusing on major federal sources such as the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), both intramural and extramural programs.
  • Advocate for funding for nutrition monitoring activities conducted jointly by the National Center for Health Statistics and the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
  • Address nutrition research components in other legislation as needed, including but not limited to, Child Nutrition Reauthorization and legislation calling for a White House Conference on Nutrition.

Nutrition Science Regulatory Issues*

  • 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
  • 2008 Farm Bill Implementation
Summary of Final Farm Bill Provisions of Interest to ASN
  • Food labeling Issues (e.g. nutrient content, claims)
  • Food safety issues

*This is not an all-inclusive list

Collaboration with Other Groups

As a member of the Federation of American Societies in Experimental Biology (FASEB), ASN strongly supports the public affairs work of this coalition of 21 scientific societies. FASEB's Office of Public Affairs (OPA) collaborates with ASN's Department of Public Affairs, and the work of the two is complementary. Visit the FASEB OPA webpage here.

ASN also is a formal member of the following public policy coalitions:
The Coalition for Funding Agricultural Research Missions (CoFARM)

Friends of NCHS