Fair Advice: Discretion, Persuasion, and Standard Setting in Child Nutrition Advice

Abstract

Child nutrition advice enjoys a prominent and widely accepted social presence. This article argues that popular acceptance of the institution of child nutrition advice, and state involvement in it, rests on a conception of advice as discretionary that is in tension with its persuasive intent. In the domain of child nutrition, the persuasive intent often prevails. Child nutrition advice can acquire the status of a set of parenting standards by stealthy means. This raises questions of fairness. Using the notion of role obligations, reasons are presented to separate out the setting of parental standards from the provision of child nutrition advice.