MaltaMedia.com October 29, 2005 FOE WELCOMES MALTA 'NO' VOTE AGAINST GMOS By Alexia Conti Malta's Friends of the Earth (FoE) welcomed the government's consistent position against Modified Organisms (GMOs) when it voted against the EU Commission's proposals to authorise the placing on the EU market of foods and food ingredients produced from genetically modified organism maize. "We should be protecting and promoting our typical agricultural products and not introducing other varieties that can be grown anywhere in the world. There is also a growing body of evidence that links GMOs to health risks, and loss of biodiversity, and simply put, the risks of GMOs are too great to take," FoE said. FoE (Malta) also maintains that the question of hunger is not question of production capacity as farmers in developed nations produce surpluses so great that they receive subsidies not to produce at capacity and still have silos full of product leftover to rot, the question being of an economical and political will. "There is also a strong evidence to indicate the danger of GMOs. Many of the studies made so far have pointed out the risks of growing and consuming GMO products. Yet, in most cases, companies would not be liable for any environmental, consumer health or economic damage resulting from GMOs," FoE continued. FoE (Malta) expresses its gratitude to those who put the safety of European citizens and their environment before the financial interests of biotech giants. FoE (Malta) also commended the government for wisely applying the precautionary principle and augured that it will continue to do so. Copyright 2005