03rd November 2003

FoE Malta encourages No Vote on GMOs

Following the recent declaration by the Minister for Environment and Rural Affairs at a meeting with the Farmers Association that he would not be voting against GMOs, FoE (Malta) questions the Minister’s position and demands to know how this decision has been taken.

Allowing GM-contaminated seed to be sold across Europe is a recipe for disaster. It will pollute our food and countryside and remove consumer choice. If anything goes wrong with this new technology the potentially catastrophic consequences will be irreversible. Scientists are saying that this may be threat to our environment and also to our freedom to choose. Our government must step in urgently to stop these plans becoming law.

The latest Eurobarometer opinion poll published by the European Commission showed that 94.6% EU citizens want the right to choose, 85.9% want to know more before eating GMOs, and 70.9% simply do not want GM food.

Should our government and the EU succumb to the intense pressure being made on them by the Biotech industry, spearheaded by the US government, new legislation in favour of GMOs will effect Malta in the coming years when it forms part of the EU. This will have disastrous results on our environment mainly due to the small size of the country. It would surely eradicate any other form of farming, thus reducing the choice of the local farmers and consumers. Introduction of GM crops will also lead to the unavoidable contamination of organic farming.

The corporations that market GMOs and the associated chemicals seek to control global agriculture and food production by buying up seed companies, patenting seeds and locking farmers into exclusive agreements. This strategy will dramatically reduce agricultural biodiversity and lead to more industrialised and unsustainable farming.

This is an alarming scenario especially in the context of the history of the previous “world’s solution” – pesticides. DDT was widely used for decades before it was found to be highly carcinogenic. Vast forests and whole cities were sprayed with this deadly toxin. The same companies that in the 1960’s produced DDT, for the second time in history, are now using planet Earth as the testing ground for Bt crops and GM crops in general. Does Malta really want to be part of this?