European Biotechnology News
Tuesday, 26th October, 2004Swiss Federal Council Rejects GM Moratorium
Bern - The Swiss Federal Council ("Bundesrat") has rejected a referendum to halt commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops in Switzerland for the next five years. In mid-August the Council stated that the referendum, which was filed last November, would not add any safety benefits to the existing regulation on genetic engineering. Such a move would damage Switzerland's standing in the field of agricultural research as well as its trade relations with other countries, the Council stated. To date there are no applications for deliberate GM release. Therefore it would be unlikely that GM crops will be grown commercially within the next two or three years. GM opponents of the initiative "for foods without genetic modification" collected about 121,000 signatures to prevent GM cultivation in Switzerland.
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