What is the Alliance for Natural Health?

The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) was founded in 2002 by Dr Robert Verkerk, an internationally acclaimed scientist, with over 25 years of academic, commercial and campaign experience in sustainability as it relates to the environment, agriculture and health.

The ANH is an internationally-active, not-for-profit,  non-governmental organisation, based in the UK, that is working to help positively shape the regulatory and scientific framework affecting natural health in order to develop more sustainable, natural and biologically-compatible approaches to healthcare.

As an alliance, the ANH brings together, globally, natural health practitioners, medical doctors, scientists, lawyers, consumers and patients and other interested persons and organisations—all with a common interest to promote natural health as the rightful, primary approach to the management of human health.

What is Codex Alimentarius?

The Codex Alimentarius Commission, Latin for 'food code', is an inter-governmental body that sets guidelines and standards to ensure ‘fair trade practices’ and consumer protection in relation to the global trade of food. It was established for this purpose in 1963 so has more than 40 years’ experience controlling food in an ever-more globalized world. It has over 170 member countries within the framework of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Its primary stated purpose is “protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.” The Commission also promotes coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations (INGO’s).

The guidelines and standards are used as a benchmark for regional/national legislation and in World Trade Orgaization (WTO) diputes. Work is conducted through nearly 30 committees, each dealing with specific areas of food, and decisions are based on consensus voting by member countries. INGO’s do not have voting rights, but may influence proceedings. Most INGO’s present at Codex meetings represent transnational corporation interests. 

Single greatest threat to our access to natural health products?

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is responsible for establishing a system of guidelines, standards and recommendations that guides the direction of the global food supply. It aims to tell us what is safe, but in the process often uses criteria that are manipulated to support the interests of the world’s largest corporations.

Admirable, some might say, but of course, just how are governments in Codex protecting health, based on what criteria and — what exactly is meant by ‘fair trade practices’?

Well, it’s certainly got nothing to do with the fair trade movement that aims to support farmers and producers in developing countries while promoting sustainability. It’s much more about a system of guidelines and standards that work to the advantage of the largest global food suppliers and producers. In such company, inevitably, small producers and suppliers get left out in the cold -- as do small governments that disagree with the thrust of some of the decisions made under the Codex banner.

Codex Alimentarius, certainly in alternative circles, is often claimed to be the single greatest threat to our continued access to natural health products and wholesome foods. Robert Verkerk, of the Alliance for Natural Health, challenges some of the misconceptions and explains both what Codex is really about and what else we should be concerned about.