Virginia Messina

Virginia Messina (also known as Ginny Messina and The Vegan RD) is an American registered dietitian and veganism activist, best known for her research on plant-based nutrition. She has twice co-authored the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics position paper on vegetarian diets.

Career

Messina became a vegetarian in 1970s after reading the cookbook Laurel's Kitchen. She became interested in animal rights and veganism in the 1980s. She was director of nutrition services at George Washington University Medical Center from 1987 to 1989 and a dietitian for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) from 1989 to 1992. Messina and her husband founded Vegetarian Nutrition: An International Journal. She is a founding member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group.

In 2011, Messina co-authored Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy on a Plant-Based Diet with Jack Norris. It was updated in 2020.

In 2018, Messina was a speaker at the Boston Veg Food Fest.

Personal life

Messina is married to Mark J. Messina, a nutritionist and soy researcher. They reside in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.

Her father William Joseph Kisch died in 2003.

Selected publications

The Vegetarian Way: Total Health for You and Your Family (with Mark Messina, 1996) Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian diets (2003) Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy on a Plant-Based Diet (with Jack Norris, 2020) Nova Fails to Appreciate the Value of Plant-Based Meat and Dairy Alternatives in the Diet (with Mark Messina, 2024)