1. Vesanto Melina was born on 13 March 1942 and is a Canadian Registered Dietitian and co-author of books that have become classics in the field of vegetarian, vegan, and raw foods nutrition, have sold over a million copies in English and almost a million in nine additional languages, most with co-author Brenda Davis.
Vesanto Melina has presented talks and workshops on various aspects of vegetarian, vegan and raw foods and nutrition for dietitians, health professionals, and vegetarian associations in 17 American states and 9 Canadian provinces, and in 10 countries as well as Iceland and Costa Rica.
Vesanto Melina's father was physiologist Ed Goranson, who specialized in diabetes working in the Toronto lab of Sir Frederick Banting and Charles Best.
Vesanto Melina's mother was teacher Margaret Goranson who taught at the University of British Columbia's Child Study Centre.
Vesanto Melina studied nutrition at the University of London, England, and the University of Toronto, Ontario and completed a master's degree in Nutrition at the University of Toronto, Ontario.
Vesanto Melina married her childhood sweetheart, mathematician John Crawford, in 1964, and they had two children.
Vesanto Melina spent four years at an ashram in Poona, India, between 1978 and 1981, changing her first name to Vesanto and traveled to Nepal four times before returning to British Columbia.
Vesanto Melina was married to the late David Melina from August 1994 to 2000.
Since 2005, Vesanto Melina's partner has been Cam Dore, who was executive director of The HOME Society in Abbotsford BC.
Vesanto Melina returned to teach nutrition at the University of British Columbia, at Vancouver's Langara College and at Seattle's Bastyr University.
Vesanto Melina became increasingly interested in the topic of vegetarian nutrition and foods.
Vesanto Melina began teaching popular classes in vegetarian cooking and nutrition that received national media attention.
Vesanto Melina received the Clintec award for leadership in dietetics.
Vesanto Melina was co-author of the American Dietetic Association's and Dietitians of Canada's joint 2003 Position Paper on Vegetarian Diets.
Vesanto Melina is a member of Dietitians of Canada, College of Dietitians of British Columbia, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Washington State Dietetics Association, and the International Vegetarian Union.
Vesanto Melina has designed continuing education courses for health professionals for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and is the lead author of their latest position Paper on Vegetarian Diets.
Vesanto Melina's "Becoming Vegan: Express Edition" with Registered Dietitian Brenda Davis is given star rating by the American Library Association as "the go-to book" on vegan nutrition, won a 2014 Canada Book Award [1] and received an honorable mention for ForeWord Book of the Year award in the US.