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Clintec Award
The British Columbia Dietitians andNutritionists 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.
