UK-born Vanessa Clarkson is an internationally recognised registered dietitian, wholefood nutrition expert, cook and writer. She holds a Masters degree in Food Policy from the highly-regarded policy unit at City University in London, where she studied wider food issues like sustainability and ethics. A mother of two, she believes that cultivating a love of real food in children needs to begin as early as possible. Vanessa has advised some of the world's largest food and drink companies on improving the nutritional content of their products and marketing them in a more responsible manner. She has spoken at the Institute of Medicine in the USA and before the European Commission on public health improvements in the food industry. She is national Nutrition Manager for the Coles supermarket chain and currently acts as an advisor to the Australian government on food and nutrition issues, sitting on the Healthy Food Partnership Executive Committee and the Health Star Rating Advisory Committee. Vanessa runs a freelance nutrition consultancy, Thrive Nutrition. She lives with her family outside of Melbourne, Australia.