Clintec Award Vesanto accepting the Clintec Award (British Columbia Dietitians and Nutritionists Association)

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. The  best-selling book "Becoming Vegetarian" which she co-authored went into its 3rd printing after only 6 months.*   This was 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, and has remained the classic in its field, through numerous updates. (It is now titled "The New Becoming Vegetarian" in the U.S. and "Becoming Vegetarian" in Canada.) 

Vesanto is well published, including articles in The Lancet, Nursing B.C., the Journal of the Canadian Dietetics Association, the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, and the Manual of Clinical Dietetics.  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. 

*By now this book in all its printings has sold about 150,000 copies, is in 12 countries and 3 languages, and updates are still going strong!