The British Columbia Dietitians and Nutritionists
Association
Clintec Award Recipient
Vesanto accepting the Clintec Award
Vesanto Melina's remarkable career
as a dietitian for over 30 years has demonstrated leadership in both health promotion and
disease prevention that has affected not only the dietetic profession, but also other
health professionals and the general public.
This highly deserving individual pursued her
undergraduate training at the University of London, England and University of
Toronto. She also has a Master's degree in Nutrition from the University of Toronto.
Vesanto's pioneering work began in 1965 while she
was teaching nutrition as a faculty member at the University of British Columbia.
Her collaborative work on homocystinuria led to innovative dietary treatment which helped
prevent mental retardation in B.C. children who had this disease.
She was ahead of her time in setting up private
practice as a consultant, speaker and teacher as early as 1982. Vesanto consulted to
other health professionals, youth groups and senior centers; she's taught nutrition
courses at community centers, colleges and universities throughout B.C., and was a
provincial nutritionist for the South Okanagan from 1975-1978.
Vesanto is very committed to the field of nutrition
and has taken new risks for our profession. During the 1980's Vesanto began to
develop expertise in vegetarian nutrition and foods. Her classes attracted
considerable media attention. She wrote Nutrition for the Adult Vegetarian
for the B.C. Manual of Nutritional Care, 1992. Her most recent
accomplishment is as co-author of the best selling book "Becoming
Vegetarian" which went into its 3rd printing after only 6 months.* This is the first comprehensive guide that has been
written on this subject by qualified dietitians in North America and Europe, combining
current scientific research with practical tips in a "reader friendly" manner.
Vesanto is well published, including articles in The
Lancet, Nursing B.C., and Journal of the Canadian Dietetics
Association*. She
makes continual efforts to provide the public with sound nutrition advice. Her
achievements have made her a mentor to many other dietitians.
This award acknowledges and recognizes a daring and
innovative nutrition communicator for her accomplishments as a private practice
dietitian/nutritionist, author, educator, spokesperson and expert in vegetarian nutrition.
*This book has now sold over 130,000 copies, is
in 11 countries and 3 languages.
**She has now also published in the Journal of the American Dietetic
Association (2003) and was a coordinator for the Manual of Clinical Dietetics,
2000.
