Recently, ACNEM and AIMA jointly hosted an evening with Dr Robert Verkerk from the Alliance for Natural Health in the UK on:

Moving Beyond the Existing ‘Evidenced-Based Medicine’ Paradigm.

Click here to watch the lecture (you will need a good broadband connection).

In this presentation, Dr Robert Verkerk evaluates the methodologies that underpin anti-natural health viewpoints emanating from skeptic elements linked to orthodox, pharmaceutical-based medicine. In particular he references a group of highly influential UK doctors, academics and journalists. Dr Verkerk outlines weaknesses in the viewpoints espoused by these ‘new fundamentalists’ and elaborates on the deficiencies of scientific methods presently used to evaluate the safety and efficacy of non-pharmaceutical modalities in healthcare. Finally, he provides insights on ways forward, highlighting scientific, legal and policy-based strategies.

Dr Robert Verkerk, is an internationally acclaimed expert in agricultural, environmental and health sustainability, environmental toxicology, nutritional science and risk assessment. In his current role as executive and scientific director of the Alliance for Natural Health, which he founded in 2002, Dr Verkerk has made substantial contributions to the development of more appropriate legal and scientific frameworks for the regulation of natural products used in healthcare using the principles of ‘good science’ and ‘good law’.

He has a Masters Degree, a PhD and seven years post-doctoral research experience from Imperial College London. He is a regional fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, Patron of the College of Naturopathic Medicine, and acts as Scientific Advisor to both the American Association for Health Freedom and the Irish Association of Health Stores. He has contributed to the Risk Assessment Electronic Working Group of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses and regularly provides consultation responses to the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority, the UK and other EU governments, the US Food & Drug Administration, as well as the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organisation.

Click here for more information.