Swiss adopt five-year GMO farming ban

By Tom Armitage

ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland voted in favor of a
five-year ban on the farming of genetically modified plants and
animals on Sunday, putting in place some of the toughest
restrictions in Europe.

The move, supported by farmers, ecologists and consumer
groups, will force the government to impose a blanket ban on
the cultivation of GMO crops and the import of animals whose
genes have been modified in the laboratory.

The moratorium does not apply to research into GMOs
(Genetically Modified Organisms) nor does it stop the import of
genetically modified food.

But its supporters say the victory is a clear signal that
Swiss consumers and farmers are in favor of GM-free food and
produce, at a time when traditional Swiss farms are under
threat from cuts in agricultural subsidies.

“All the farmers’ organizations were behind this proposal,
which they see as a chance for Swiss agriculture,” Daniel
Ammann, a spokesman for the winning coalition of GMO crop
opponents, told Reuters.

“Swiss farming was already very ecologically sound and
animal-friendly, and farmers are convinced now that with the
added label of ‘GMO-free’, they will be able to emphasize the
quality of Swiss produce,” he said.

While the vote has a symbolic meaning, the moratorium will
result in very little change from current practice.

However, the ban could isolate Switzerland within Europe
and lead to a brain drain of researchers, its opponents said.

“This clear yes to a moratorium is a bad sign for
Switzerland’s image as a research center,” the youth wing of
the centrist Free Democrat Party said in a statement.

CLEAR WIN

Official results showed that 55.7 percent of voters
accepted the proposal to impose a five-year moratorium.

All 26 cantons also accepted the ban, which will give
Switzerland a tougher regime on GMOs than its neighbors in the
25-nation European Union.

In the EU, restrictions apply only to specific crops and
are temporary in nature, rather than the blanket ban proposed
by the Swiss.

While Switzerland is home to many pharmaceutical firms as
well as agro-chemicals group Syngenta, only around 1 percent of
the research performed in the alpine nation involves GMOs,
Ammann noted.

Under the country’s legislative system, the Swiss
electorate is regularly asked to vote on major decisions.

Voters also narrowly agreed to legalize Sunday trading at
shops in railways and airports, ignoring calls from workers’
unions and church groups to ban Sunday shopping.