Gunnlaugur at Johnstown for WVC 96

My name is G.K. Jónsson and I am the president of the Nature Health Association of Iceland, NHAI. I will be attending the IVU congress in Thailand with a fellow member of the NHAI board, Ingi Thor Jónsson. (we are not related but "Jónsson" means that we are the son of "Jón", a very common name in Iceland)

The NHAI was founded in 1937 by Jónas Kristjánsson MD, not as a vegetarian society although it emphasis vegetarian diet to preserve and obtain health.

The main policy of the NHAI is to encourage people to take responsibility for their health. The stress is on good physical exercise, positive thinking and health food. So in a way the aim of the NHAI is to collect and distribute information regarding the fundimental principles of healthy living in accordance with what is belived to be the most advanced state of knowledge and correctness at any given time.

The NHAI owns a health clinic in Hveragerđi, a small town about 45 km east of Reykjavík and close to the greenhouses which provide it with fresh vegetables. The clinic, which gets around 2500 visitors a year, operates 160 beds in plain but comfortable single and double rooms. You can get further informations in English or German about the clinic on the web: www.hnlfi.is.

The NHAI is a associate member of the IVU.

My companion, Ingi Thor, is a cook with rights as such. He is very interested in vegetarian food and cooking. Ingi Thor runs his own company in Iceland. I myself work in the public service.

Me and Ingi Thor attend the congress to learn, observe and see what is going on in this field of our intrest.

See you in Thailand!

Gunnlaugur K. Jónsson