Ideology in My Controversy

Indil77. Symbol for Gluten Free products. 1 May 2015. Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication

Who is involved in the controversy?
There are multiple unaffiliated groups currently discussing the controversy about gluten-free diets. The group with the most knowledge on the topic would be the doctors, researchers, and nutritionalists looking for the facts and trying to find the real answers. The other groups consist of the media. This could range anywhere from twitter accounts dedicated to Celiacs disease or simply personal accounts discussing the topic amongst each other.

Who are some of the major speakers/writers within these groups?
Daniel Kalish DC and Lola O'Rourke MS, RD are active speakers on the topic. Daniel Kalish discusses how gluten disrupts healthy thyroid function and Lola discusses the safety regarding gluten free food labeling. They are both certified and have expertise in the subject.

What kind of social/cultural/economic/political power does each group hold?
These groups mostly hold social power. There is some economic power involved in the actual production of gluten-free products and people demanding them. Most of the power comes from the social aspect of people trying to engage in the latest diet fads.

What resources are available to different positions?
The doctors and nutritionalists have access to recorded experiments and databases for conrete information. The media has just that, the media. They can do their research through the internet on the topic.

What does each group value?
The professionals in the medical field value the answers. This means they value finding the end result to the controversy so we can further our knowledge on the subject and advise people effectively. The media values the attention. In other words the followers, the subscribers, the people that believe the information in their posts whether it is correct or not.

What counts as evidence for each position?
For the specialists, the evidence lies in the results of experiments and medical procedures. This is concrete knowledge of how gluten reacts in the body. For the media, evidence could be found in posts about personal experiences with a gluten-free diet; for example, transformations, stories, etc.

Is there a power differential between the groups?
Definitely. The doctors hold all of the power in the argument. The doctors hold all of the knowledge and concrete facts regarding the subject. The media simply spits out facts it knows the consumers want to here.

Is there any acknowledged common ground between groups?
There is a little bit of common ground. The only thing that would overlap is when doctors and professionals use the media to spread their discoveries and opinions on the topic.

Is there any unacknowledged common ground?
There is a bit of unacknowledged common ground between the two. When doctors are doing research on the topic it is often said that they will search the media initially to see what other information about the subject is out there.

Do the various groups listen to each other?
The media more often than not does listen to what the doctors have to say about the controversy. The doctors however seldom listen to the media because the media is full of lots of misinformation and things the doctors are already aware of.