Virginia Messina, MPH RD
Personal Statement
I have been a dietitian, public health nutritionist and vegetarian
for nearly 20 years and, for the past decade, have focused on
professional activities pertaining to vegetarian diet. My interest in
this field is based on a long-time commitment to animal welfare,
concerns about the impact of diet and lifestyle on the environment, a
commitment to public health, and, not least, a love for very good
food.
As a vegetarian dietitian, I have a number of particular interests
and goals. First, I work towards providing information that will
help--and hopefully convince--people to make the transition to a more
plant-based diet. I hope, too, that this information will help vegans
to eat as healthfully as possible. I am also interested in making it
as easy as possible for people to make this transition to responsible
eating by focusing on dietary changes that have a real impact on
personal health, the environment, and animals, and by minimizing
emphasis on the types of changes that vegans sometimes adopt but that
are only marginally effective. Finally, some of my work is aimed
towards increasing awareness and knowledge about vegan diets among
nutrition professionals.
Most of my efforts revolve around various writing projects and
publications. I have co-authored several books for consumers
including The
Vegetarian Way, a comprehensive guide to vegetarian guide and am
a senior editor of the Vegetarian
Nutrition and Health Letter from Loma Linda University. This is
the first university-based nutrition newsletter devoted to vegetarian
nutrition. I have also authored a textbook for dietitians The
Dietitians' Guide to Vegetarian Diet: Issues and Applications
(with a second edition due in October 2001) and have authored
articles for journals aimed at dietitians.
When I'm not at my computer I make time for quilting, reading,
gardening, cooking, and birdwatching in paradise-like Port Townsend,
a Victorian seaport on Washington State's wild and wonderful Olympic
Peninsula. I share my home there with my husband, who is a worldwide
expert in soy nutrition, and with numerous tame and feral cats.
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