Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, is a dietitian and public health nutritionist specializing in vegan nutrition. She has taught nutrition to college students at Central Michigan University, provided dietary counseling in a variety of public health settings, and was a dietitian for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.  In addition to being a co-author of the American Dietetic Association's position on vegetarian diets, she has written books for consumers and also a vegetarian textbook for health professionals. She is a National Vegan Examiner for www.examiner.com (www.examiner.com/x-5670-Vegan-Examiner) and blogs as The Vegan Dietitian (www.veggiedietitian.blogspot.com).