Dietitians' interests in primary food production: Opportunities for greater involvement in the promotion of environmental sustainability

Dietitians are food communication professionals. Little is known about their views of food sustainability and security or of their interest in learning more about these issues. Therefore, an online survey of members of the Dietitians' Association of Australia was conducted during the first half of 2012 about these issues.Thirty-five percent of the 380 respondents were particularly interested in the impact of food production systems on the nutrient composition of food, sustainability, food selection, and related issues. Preferred ways of learning about these issues included discussion groups and workshops, professional development courses, and online webcasts.A small minority of dietitians appear to have strong interests in environmental sustainability and are receptive to further communication about these issues.